The Netherlands’ HQ/2 initiative, involving QuTech, TNO, and four startups—QuantWare, Qblox, Orange Quantum Systems, and Delft Circuits—has released Tuna-5, a superconducting quantum system built using an open-architecture model. Hosted at the DiCarlo Lab and available via the Quantum Inspire platform, Tuna-5 integrates modular subsystems across hardware and software layers, including tunable-coupler quantum chips, modular control electronics, and Python-based software. The platform is intended as a system-readiness benchmark rather than a commercial-scale machine.

Tuna-5’s processor, fabricated by QuantWare, incorporates flux-tunable couplers that allow dynamic adjustment of qubit interactions, improving gate fidelity and reducing spectator qubit interference. Control and readout are managed using Qblox hardware, while Orange Quantum Systems provides the quantum operating system. TNO oversees software coordination and execution. The system builds on experimental findings from the DiCarlo Lab, which guided calibration strategies to minimize residual couplings. Though not integrated into Tuna-5, Delft Circuits contributes cryogenic interconnects for a scaled-up prototype under parallel development.

This launch contributes to the HQ/2 national roadmap and supports the broader OpenSuperQPlus EU initiative, which targets a 100-qubit system by 2026. As one of three real devices hosted on the Quantum Inspire cloud, Tuna-5 exemplifies the Netherlands’ emphasis on open design, supply chain co-development, and public access to quantum hardware. The system’s architecture is expected to inform future scalable prototypes across Europe’s quantum infrastructure programs.

Read the official announcement on QuTech’s website here.

May 15, 2025