Thank you for your interest in the Quantum Call for Proposals 2025 (Q-CPR) of the ESA Phi-Lab Switzerland at the European Space Deep-Tech Innovation Centre (ESDI). Here’s what you need to know, and what we want you to tackle:
The Big Question: “What if every satellite could carry a quantum sensor the size of a shoebox?”
The Problem:
Quantum sensors can detect minute changes in gravity, magnetic fields, and time, and other quantities with atomic precision, potentially revolutionizing how we measure our world. Yet many of these extraordinary capabilities remain still confined to controlled laboratory environments, preventing quantum sensing from addressing urgent commercial and societal needs, such as water resource management, infrastructure monitoring, and autonomous navigation.
The Current State:
While quantum sensors can demonstrate 100-1000 times better precision than classical devices, they demand sophisticated infrastructure: typically room-sized setups, complex electronics, and constant expert oversight. Their high cost and operational complexity create significant barriers to commercial adoption, despite their transformative potential across industries.
The Challenge:
Make measurable progress towards at least 10x improvement in compactness, performance, or reliability to transform quantum sensing from laboratory instruments into commercially viable products for applications in space. Key objectives include:
- Advancing miniaturization from room-scale towards handheld dimensions while maintaining precision and addressing SWaP(-C) (Size, Weight, and Power with Cost) considerations.
- Demonstrating improved reliability under harsh environmental conditions, including stability in thermal environments (e.g., cryogenics, heat load management) and radiation hardness.
- Developing robust solutions for operation in varying temperatures and vibration levels, ensuring efficiency and integration with quantum systems.
- Establishing pathways toward cost-effective manufacturing at scale.
The Solution:
We seek breakthrough approaches linked to technology conundrums worth solving that aim at demonstrating significant progress in areas like:
- Control system miniaturization, all the way to chip-scale
- Environmental resilience, including thermal and vibration management
- Sensor integration, such as by combining multiple quantum sensing modalities
- Scalable production methods suitable for commercial manufacturing
The harsh space environment serves as an ideal testbed: technologies meeting these requirements will readily translate to terrestrial commercial applications. Advances should therefore show clear pathways toward quantum sensor enabled systems, their applications and their commercialisation for space, for example such as:
- Space-based gravity field mapping for climate and earthquake monitoring
- Space-based quantum magnetometers for space weather and planetary exploration
- RF spectrum monitoring for ultra-wideband detection
- Quantum RADAR/LiDAR for enhanced resolution and accuracy
- Chip-sized atomic clocks.
Furthermore, additional terrestrial applications might also be enabled by such advancements, including for example:
- Underground mapping for resource and infrastructure monitoring
- Autonomous navigation in GPS-denied environments
- Environmental sensing for climate and water resource management
- Medical diagnostics using quantum-enhanced detection
Why Phi-Lab at ESDI:
The Phi-Lab at the European Space Deep-Tech Innovation Centre (ESDI) aspires to transform breakthrough science into real-world solutions. The approach based on use-inspired research, combined with deep-tech competence in our ecosystem, promises that developments are scientifically excellent, commercially relevant and have potential market impact. We expect that this accelerates progress from laboratory demonstrations to market-ready products that meet the demanding standards of space, but also terrestrial applications.
BUDGET AND ADDITIONAL BENEFITS
The total available Phi-Lab “Innovation Seed Funds” (See call documentation for details) for the implementation of this specific call is 2.97 MCHF.
The available budget per winning project is from a minimum of 200’000 CHF to a maximum of 990’000 CHF for a maximum duration of 24 months, with the average Innovation Seed funding per project expected to fall in the range of 600’000 to 750’000 CHF for 24 months.
THE EVALUATION PROCESS
The evaluation process includes the following steps:
- After the application cut-off date, a formal check of the received documents is conducted.
- If the application meets the requirements, the applicant is invited to the Tender Evaluation Board (TEB) meeting.
- The applicant presents a 10-15 minute presentation to the TEB, followed by a Q&A session.
- The TEB evaluates the application.
- ESA Phi-Lab provides feedback to the applicant and, if successful, extends an invitation to sign an incubation contract.
TIMELINE
- Cut-off date: 1 May 2025 - Deadline to upload your proposal to OSIP.
- Tender Evaluation Board: 20 May 2025 - Applicants with compliant applications will be invited to present on this day. The Phi-Lab Team strives to facilitate both in-person and remote participation to the TEB. Final confirmation of participation options will be provided with the invitation to attend the TEB.
