Call for applications for Quantum Technology Co-Research Projects

Call period

Two-stage call: 20 August–9 November 2026 at 23:59.

Tentative applications must be submitted by 23:59 on 28 September, after which applicants will present their ideas to Business Finland experts in a presentation lasting no more than 15 minutes. Following the presentation and a 15-minute discussion, the experts will provide feedback on whether the project should proceed to the full application stage and may also offer suggestions for combining projects or further developing the ideas. Tentative applications must not exceed three pages (excluding the cover page). The cover page and the headings of the tentative application are described in Appendix 1. 

The final applications must be submitted by 23:59 on 9 November. Applications will be processed after the application period ends. Funding decisions will be made in early 2027.

Call description

This call will fund the development of quantum technologies and their application in the following areas: quantum computing and simulation, quantum communication, quantum sensing, and quantum metrology. Closely related enabling technologies and software used in quantum technology may also be researched and developed. A national roadmap has been developed to implement Finland’s Quantum Technology Strategy 2025–2035, which was published in January 2026 (Roadmap-Finnish-Quantum-Technologies-by-2035.pdf). Proposals are expected to be based primarily on these roadmaps. However, if advances in technology since their publication have led to new development ideas or areas of application, these new ideas may also be submitted for funding.

With its funding, the Innovation Funding Agency Business Finland (Funding Agency) aims to promote public research that creates significant long-term business opportunities that would not be carried out without funding, or would be carried out more slowly or on a smaller scale than would be appropriate. 

The funding is granted in accordance with the Act on Discretionary Government Grants (688/2001), and funding provided within the state budget system is governed by state budget regulations.

The goal of the funding is to strengthen the competence of research organisations in research areas relevant to business and industry and to steer research topics towards areas relevant to Finnish export industries. The funding is intended for research projects, the results of which are made public and can be widely utilised by business and industry. 

Funding is aimed at market-transforming, strategically important research projects that develop strategic competence and are expected to have a long-term impact on the competitiveness of Finnish companies. This funding call seeks research projects that show significant new business opportunities arising from research conducted at national or international levels, but where the companies themselves do not yet have the capacity or vision to apply this competence in their product development and business operations. The results of the research projects serve as the basis for the companies’ own development projects.

Funding can be used to strengthen both domestic and international research cooperation and to promote the transfer of technology or competence to Finland.

The total duration of a project will typically not exceed 2.5 years.

Target groups of the funding

Funding can only be granted to research organisations. Funding can be applied for either independently by an individual research organisation or jointly by several research organisations. In a joint project consisting of several research organisations, each participant applies for funding for their own project.

The applicant cannot be an individual researcher or a research group.

A research organisation is defined as an organisation whose primary mission is to conduct independent research or experimental development (such as universities and research institutes). A more detailed definition of a research organisation is provided on the webpage, How we help research organisations. 

Type and amount of funding

Funding is provided in the form of a grant. The Funding Agency’s share of the project’s eligible costs is 80 per cent. 

Total amount of funding to be granted in the call

A total of EUR 4 million has been set aside for the call.

Purpose of the funding

The funding is intended for a research project to be carried out by the applicant, not for purchasing research from a third party.  In a project carried out jointly by several research organisations, each participant applies for funding for their own research project. In the case of joint international projects, foreign participants must secure their funding from other sources. The Funding Agency’s funding is intended only for Finnish research organisations. 

The beneficiary must disseminate the results actively, extensively and without discrimination. The dissemination of research results may be part of a funded project. The research project must have a high-quality plan for disseminating the research results. Funding can also be used to identify international partners and to prepare an international follow-up or expansion project, if such preparation is an appropriate part of the research and is included in the approved project plan.

A project may include costs arising from, for example, the organised exchange of information or researcher mobility in order to carry out international cooperation. Researcher mobility must involve research activities that genuinely benefit the project. 

Funding  

• must not be used for unrequited expenditures, such as awarding grants
• must not be used for teaching
• must not be used for economic activities, such as contract research or consultancy for companies. If the research requires case examples or research problems provided by private businesses, their use must directly support the testing of the research hypothesis, and the results obtained must be freely available for publication and usable by the research organisation without restriction.  
• must not be used to cover the costs of foreign participants in a joint project 
• may not be transferred to a third party in any way (as defined in Section 7.3 of the Act on Discretionary Government Grants).

Eligible costs

Funding can be granted for the total costs incurred by the research project (referred to as the ‘total cost model’). The eligible costs are defined in more detail in the standard terms and conditions for funding public research. Funding criteria for public research (pdf)

If participants in a joint project make joint purchases in it, each participant must budget for its share of these costs in its own project. This also applies to the coordination of a joint project.

The earliest date from which research project costs can be approved is the date on which the funding decision is approved. Project costs must be based on project accounting and reliable tracking of working hours. The project’s start date must be chosen so that the organisation can ensure that costs associated with funded projects can be recorded reliably. Projects must be planned so that work does not begin until the applicant has received a funding decision.

General conditions for granting funding

Funding will not be granted if the following conditions are not met:

• The applicant must be a research organisation operating in Finland (Business ID).
• The applicant holds sufficient intellectual property rights to carry out the research plan and utilise the results.
• The results of the project will be made public after the project ends. More detailed information on the rights related to research results and their public availability is available in the standard terms and conditions for public research funding.
• The research project or joint project has established links with business and industry: 
  • There must be at least three (3) companies committed as potential users of the results. 
  • These companies have committed to the project or joint project by providing funding or other contributions that benefit the research, such as equipment, facilities, data, or software. A company may not receive any direct compensation in exchange for the funding or other contributions received.
  • The company has confirmed the nature of its commitment using the Company Notification of Project Participation form (docx). Only signed forms submitted to the Funding Agency by the final deadline for the call will be considered in the evaluation of applications.

Criteria for granting funding

The funding is competitive, and, in addition to an overall evaluation, applications are evaluated using the following criteria. A positive funding decision requires the funding to have a significant effect on the project’s implementation or results in at least one area of the Funding Agency’s impact objectives: a record number of private R&D and growth investments that improve productivity; a leap forward in ambition and innovation collaboration; and world-class conditions for revitalising national strengths and advancing the field of quantum technology. Competing funding applications will be considered in the evaluation. 

Innovation and competence to be developed

• The project generates new knowledge and competence
• The research focuses on disruptive topics and those that develop strategic competence.
• The project’s results have significant potential to generate new export business and productivity growth. 
• The project plan includes international cooperation with other leading research in the field.

Utilisation of the results

• The results of the research project serve as the basis for the companies’ own development projects. The results can also be widely utilised outside the companies that fund the project. 
• The project plan includes a high-quality plan for disseminating research results.
• Interaction with business and industry in Finland, as well as the role of companies in implementing and steering the project. 
  • Companies’ interest in the research problem and participation in preparing the project plan.
  • The number of companies potentially utilising the results that have committed to funding the research and participating in the steering group. An amount above the minimum requirement (3) improves the competitive position of the applicant
  • The share of funding for a research project or joint project provided by the participating companies. Company funding for the project will improve the applicant’s competitive position.
    • The funding must be unrequited, and the company may not require services such as consulting in exchange for funding or other contributions.
    • The project may also include other companies or participants, such as industry associations, that contribute to the project in other ways. These contributions may be ‘in-kind’ contributions, such as data, software, materials or equipment. Contributions must be described, and they must complement and support the project’s objectives.
• The ability of the participating companies to potentially utilise the competence generated in the project in their own R&D activities. 

Resources and cooperation arrangements

• The project participants have the necessary expertise and resources to achieve the desired results. 
• The evaluation of joint projects considers the role and significance of each participating organisation in implementing the project. Each participant has a justified role in implementing or utilising the joint project.

Factors promoting social and environmental well-being

Evaluation also takes into account the indirect effects of the project, such as: 

• spill-over effects of the research on competence and research in the field in Finland 
• indirect effects on the economy (turnover, exports, productivity and jobs), as well as impacts on human and environmental well-being and other societal impacts.

Funding will not be granted if:

• The research topic is conventional.
• The long-term potential for utilising the project is small compared to the funding required.
• The project lacks the research expertise and international research cooperation necessary to credibly achieve its goal.
• The parties conducting the research do not hold sufficient intellectual property rights to the subject of the research.
• The number of companies utilising the potential results is limited or one company dominates their potential use.

The funding decision will be negatively impacted by:

• failure to comply with previous project obligations
• history of misuse by a key project member

General terms and conditions for funding

Funding terms and conditions for research organisations (pdf)