Finland bets on quantum technology to drive billions in growth

Finland’s rapidly expanding quantum technology sector could become a Nokia-style success story and generate billions in revenue, Yle reports. The sector is expected to grow into a market worth 100 billion by 2040, while Finland aims to create 10,000 jobs within a decade.

Finnish quantum technology companies and researchers gathered this week at Cambridge Technology Week in the British university city of Cambridge. The event focused on the opportunities offered by quantum technology rather than the risks of artificial intelligence.

One of the companies attending was IQM Quantum Computers, which is growing rapidly. IQM builds one in five quantum computers delivered to customer facilities worldwide and has become the first European quantum company to list on the New York Stock Exchange.

Jouni Flyktman, IQM’s head of defence and security, said the sector could make a significant contribution to Finland’s economic growth in the coming years.

“The quantum sector is expected to grow into a 100 billion market by 2040. Finland is well positioned to capture a significant share of it, potentially generating billions in turnover,” Flyktman told Yle in Cambridge.

Finland’s quantum technology strategy aims to create 10,000 jobs within ten years. The European Centre for International Political Economy, or ECIPE, identifies Cambridge and Espoo as the world’s leading quantum technology centres, and the two locations now plan to strengthen their cooperation.

For Britain, which has left the European Union, closer cooperation with Europe is important because Brexit has made access to European markets more difficult.

Chris Bruce, a board member of Cambridge Technology Week, said Finland’s NATO membership had also created new reasons for cooperation.

“The connection between security, defence and technology is extremely close. The threats and opportunities are also similar,” Bruce said.

Bruce said Cambridge and Espoo had many similarities, with both specialising in deep technology, quantum technology, artificial intelligence, semiconductors and security.

IQM’s headquarters are in Finland and its product development is carried out in Germany. The company is now pursuing the US market and has raised hundreds of millions of euros from venture capital investors.

Flyktman said IQM had also listed in Helsinki because of its commitment to Europe. The company has invested 40 million euros in a new production facility in Finland.

He said Finland was fundamentally too small a market on its own. Europe needs freer movement of capital and faster financing decisions so that growth companies do not leave the region and Europe can remain competitive in the technology race.

“The United States is the benchmark for the speed of decision-making. Europe and Finland must stay in this technology game,” Flyktman said.

At Finland’s stand at Cambridge Technology Week, the focus was not on displaying inventions. Jaana Tuomi, chief executive of Enter Espoo, a company owned by the city of Espoo, said its aim was to attract companies and skilled workers to Finland.

“I think only the sky is the limit. We are now at the threshold of completely new technologies, just as when the internet arrived and changed the entire way we operate,” Tuomi said.

The Finnish stand showed forest trails and lakes in an effort to attract international talent. Other attractions included a draw for a trip to Finland and the one million euro Millennium Technology Prize awarded by the Technology Academy Finland Foundation.

However, tighter immigration policy is causing concern over residence permits. Tuomi said Finland needed to do more to persuade international experts developed by Aalto University to establish future companies in the country.

More than half of Aalto University’s professors and researchers are currently international, said Anu Honkalinna, who heads the university’s spin-off financing. Polish entrepreneur Rafal Modrzewski is among the founders of satellite manufacturer Iceye, which has annual turnover of more than 200 million euros, while German Jan Goetz is one of IQM’s founders. IQM’s success also began in Aalto University’s cryogenic laboratory in Espoo.