Sweden Sets 2036 Deadline for National Quantum Technology Strategy

Insider BriefSweden has laid out a decade-long plan to turn its strong quantum research base into a more coordinated industry while preparing government and businesses for the security risks posed by future quantum computers.The Swedish government published its first national quantum technology strategy, setting five broad goals to guide research, commercialization, workforce development, security and international cooperation through 2036. The plan covers quantum computing, quantum simulation, sensing and communications while giving particular attention to the need to replace encryption methods that could eventually be vulnerable to quantum attacks.The strategy is intended to move Sweden from a collection of established research programs and emerging companies toward a more coordinated national quantum ecosystem. The government identifies stronger links between universities and industry, a larger technical workforce and better access to financing as areas requiring attention.Sweden already has a relatively strong position in quantum research, particularly in quantum computing, but the government argues that scientific strength alone will not guarantee commercial or strategic leadership. The plan therefore treats quantum technology as an economic, research and national-security issue.The government identifies five goals for 2036, including, strong research, innovation and industrial competitiveness; a competitive supply of skilled workers; better coordination among government, academia and industry; protection and responsible use of strategically important quantum technologies; and active participation in international cooperation.The strategy follows an analysis delivered to the government by the Swedish Research Council in October 2024 in consultation with Vinnova, Sweden’s innovation agency, as well as researchers, businesses and international partners. It also builds on Sweden’s 2025-2028 research and innovation policy, which established quantum technology as a strategic research area.The Swedish government describes quantum technology as potentially important across health care, energy, cybersecurity, navigation and defense. Many commercial applications, however, remain at an early stage, and large-scale fault-tolerant quantum computers have not yet been built.One of the foundations of the plan is the Wallenberg Centre for Quantum Technology, or WACQT, coordinated by Chalmers University of Technology.The program is developing a superconducting quantum computer in Sweden. Superconducting machines encode quantum information in electrical circuits cooled to temperatures close to absolute zero, an approach also pursued by companies including IBM and Google.WACQT reached a 25-qubit processor in 2024 and opened a version of its system for testing by companies in 2025. Its development target calls for reaching 100 qubits by 2029.Qubits are the quantum counterpart to the bits used in conventional computers. Unlike classical bits, which take values of either zero or one, qubits can occupy quantum combinations of states. That property can allow quantum systems to approach certain calculations differently from conventional machines, although increasing the number and quality of qubits while controlling errors remains a central engineering challenge.WACQT also has an agreement with IBM that gives Swedish researchers and companies access to larger quantum processors while Sweden develops domestic hardware.The national strategy extends beyond building computers to include quantum technologies that might not earn all the headlines, but are arguably closer to commercialization. Quantum sensors, for instance, could eventually provide highly precise measurements for navigation, medicine and industrial applications, while quantum communications use properties of quantum physics to transmit or protect information. Quantum simulators are designed to model physical systems that can become difficult for conventional computers to represent accurately.Sweden wants research in these areas to translate more readily into companies and commercial products.The strategy identifies a few obstacles, including the fragmentation between research institutions, industry, government agencies and investors. Smaller quantum and deep-tech companies can face particular difficulty raising the large amounts of capital needed to move technologies from laboratories into manufacturing and commercial markets.The government does not attach a new dedicated quantum budget to the strategy. Instead, the document points to broader research programs and an initiative to establish excellence clusters in strategic technology fields, including quantum technology.The strategy, then, stands more of a policy framework than a spending program. Its importance for companies and investors may depend on how its objectives are translated into research grants, procurement, industrial programs and other government measures over the coming years.Cybersecurity receives separate attention in the plan because useful quantum computers could eventually undermine widely used forms of public-key cryptography.These encryption systems protect activities ranging from internet communications and financial transactions to government networks. A sufficiently capable quantum computer running specialized algorithms could theoretically solve some mathematical problems underlying current encryption much faster than conventional computers.No quantum computer capable of doing this at a useful scale exists today. Sweden, however, points out that organizations cannot wait until one arrives before replacing vulnerable systems.One concern is known as “harvest now, decrypt later.” An attacker could collect encrypted information today and store it until a future quantum computer becomes powerful enough to decrypt it. That makes the threat relevant now for information that needs to remain confidential for many years.Sweden’s broader cybersecurity policy assumes that cryptographically relevant quantum computers could become available in the early 2030s and calls for quantum-safe protection to be developed and deployed in advance.The quantum strategy highlights two approaches to making data and information quantum safe.Quantum key distribution, or QKD, uses quantum effects to help two parties exchange encryption keys in a way that can reveal attempts at interception. Such systems are already commercially available but require specialized infrastructure, limiting their suitability for widespread use.Post-quantum cryptography takes a different tack. It replaces vulnerable mathematical algorithms with new algorithms designed to withstand attacks from both conventional and quantum computers. Because these algorithms run on classical computers and networks, they can generally be deployed without building quantum communications systems.International standards organizations have already begun standardizing post-quantum algorithms for uses including key establishment and digital signatures. Sweden’s national cybersecurity authorities have issued recommendations on the transition, and the quantum plan links that work to the country’s broader cybersecurity strategy.The Swedish approach also distinguishes between systems protecting classified information and the larger volume of sensitive but unclassified information held by businesses, public agencies and other organizations.A second challenge is finding enough people to build and operate the emerging industry.The strategy calls for strengthening graduate schools connected with quantum research groups, expanding industrial doctoral programs and postdoctoral positions, and increasing efforts to draw more women into the field.Those objectives connect the quantum program with Sweden’s national STEM strategy, introduced in 2025 to strengthen science, technology, engineering and mathematics education from compulsory school through university and doctoral training.The workforce issue reflects a broader challenge in quantum technology. Developing quantum hardware requires expertise that can span physics, electrical engineering, materials science, computer science and specialized manufacturing. Commercialization also requires software developers, systems engineers and workers able to connect quantum systems with existing computing infrastructure.International partnerships are important part of the plan, too, and the nation has already established those initial global collaborations.Sweden and the U.S. signed a Technology Prosperity Deal in May covering quantum technology along with artificial intelligence, advanced telecommunications, biomedicine, energy, space, advanced manufacturing and defense innovation. The nonbinding agreement is intended to expand research and commercial cooperation between the two countries.Sweden is also building quantum ties through Nordic cooperation, the European Union and NATO.At the European level, Sweden’s strategy fits into the EU’s broader effort to develop domestic quantum technology and reduce dependence on outside suppliers for strategically important technologies. NATO membership provides an additional security and defense channel for quantum research and technology cooperation.These relationships point to a central theme of Sweden’s plan. Quantum technology is increasingly being treated not simply as another emerging computing market, but as infrastructure with implications for industrial competitiveness, supply chains, cybersecurity and defense.This article was based in part on material derived from an AI-assisted translation of the Swedish-language national quantum strategy into English. Keen to correct any mistranslations.TopicsShare Get the latest research, company news, and market intelligence every week. MENTIONED IN THE ARTICLEThe Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet) is Sweden’s largest government research funding agency. Operating under the Ministry of Education and Research, it funds basic research across all fields, advises the government on research policy, promotes interdisciplinary and ethical research, and supports national and international collaborations and infrastructure.Wallenberg Centre for Quantum Technology is a 12 year SEK 1 billion research effort that aims to take Sweden to the forefront of this very rapidly expanding area of technology. Through an extensive research programme, it aims at developing and securing Swedish expertise within the main areas of quantum technology: quantum computing and simulation, quantum communications and quantum sensing. Its main project is to develop a quantum computer that can solve problems far beyond the reach of the best conventional supercomputers.Chalmers University of Technology, situated in Gothenburg, Sweden, focuses on research and education in technology and natural sciences. It was established in 1829.IBM is an iconic technology pioneer founded in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company and officially renamed International Business Machines Corporation in 1924. Beyond foundational computing, IBM possesses a deep legacy in aerospace and defense from building the guidance computers and Instrument Unit for NASA's historic Apollo missions to partnering with Airbus on CIMON, the first AI assistant on the ISS.More in Research