The inauguration ceremony took place at the Très Grand Centre de Calcul (TGCC) in Bruyères-le-Châtel and was hosted by the CEA, the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, together with GENCI (Grand Équipement National de Calcul Intensif).
The event was attended by Anne Le Hénanff, French Minister for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs, Kilian Gross, Director in the Directorate-General Communication Networks, Content and Technology (DG CNECT) at the European Commission and Anders Jensen, the Executive Director of the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking.
Lucy is Quandela’s state-of-the-art photonic quantum computer ‘MOSAIQ-12’ enabling computations with up to 12 physical qubits. The system will be integrated into the Joliot-Curie supercomputer, and will enable researchers and industry to apply quantum accelerated high-performance computing (HPC-QC) in technological and scientific fields such as material science, meteorology, energy, and advanced engineering.
Anders Jensen, Executive Director of the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking stated:
“Lucy is the fourth EuroHPC quantum computer to be inaugurated. It brings new quantum capabilities to Europe’s supercomputing ecosystem and marks another important milestone for our technological sovereignty. By bringing together quantum and high-performance computing, EuroHPC JU is enabling researchers and industry to tackle complex challenges and unlock new opportunities for innovation across strategic sectors.”
Anne-Isabelle Etienvre, Administrator General of the CEA:
“With Lucy, the CEA is giving new concrete expression to its long-standing commitment to quantum technologies. From the invention of the first qubits by our fundamental research teams—an excellence recently recognised at the highest level—to the operation of breakthrough machines at the TGCC, we are demonstrating the strength of our integrated model. This continuity enables us to transform a technological breakthrough into a sovereign industrial tool. Lucy is now at the service of our researchers, as well as the entire European scientific and industrial ecosystem, to explore new computing horizons.”
Michaël Krajecki, CEO of GENCI:
“With Lucy, the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking, the CEA, and GENCI are providing European and French scientific and industrial communities with a unique, hybrid, and sovereign quantum computing capability. Freely accessible, Lucy is becoming a cutting-edge sovereign asset for research and innovation. Thanks to Quandela’s photonic technology, hosted at the TGCC, the transition to the industrial scale of the quantum era has never seemed so close. This marks a major milestone for France and for Europe.”
Hosted by GENCI, Lucy is installed and operated at the TGCC, a computing centre of CEA and one of France’s three national supercomputing facilities. The system is supplied by a French-German vendor partnership including Quandela and attocube.
The system is now undergoing final calibration and should be available to European end-users in the coming weeks.
More details
Lucy is a photonic quantum computer that uses particles of light (photons) as qubits. Photonic systems operate at room temperature and are made of modular, fibered and rack-mounted components, making them easier to integrate with existing HPC infrastructure. Lucy is based on linear optics quantum computing (LOQC), a promising approach that could accelerate applications across a range of scientific and industrial domains.
Owned by the EuroHPC JU, Lucy has a total acquisition cost of EUR 8.5 million, co-funded by the EuroHPC JU (50%) and France (50%).
The EuroQCS-France consortium is led by GENCI as hosting entity and CEA as hosting site, with the University Politehnica of Bucharest (UPB, Romania), Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ, Germany) and Irish Centre for High- End Computing (ICHEC, Ireland) as members.
To date, the EuroHPC JU has procured six quantum computers, located across Europe. Three of these systems have already been inaugurated since last year:
- PIAST-Q in Poznań, Poland in June 2025,
- VLQ in Ostrava, Czechia in October 2025,
- Euro-Q-Exa in Munich, Germany in February 2026.
The deployment of these quantum computers across Europe aims to offer the widest possible variety of European quantum computing platforms and hybrid classical-quantum architectures, including analogue quantum simulators based on neutral atoms, trapped ions, superconducting circuits, and photonics to adiabatic systems, enabling the execution of annealing routines. This approach positions Europe at the forefront of this emerging field while providing European end-users with access to diverse and complementary quantum technologies.
In addition to these six systems, two analogue quantum simulators, Jade and Ruby, have been procured under the EuroHPC JU project HPCQS and inaugurated end of 2025 in Germany (Julich Supercomputing Centre, JSC) and France (GENCI).
Procurement processes are also currently ongoing for additional EuroHPC quantum computers to be hosted and operated by SURF in the Netherlands and by LuxProvide in Luxembourg.
About EuroHPC JU
The EuroHPC JU is a legal and funding entity that brings together the European Union and participating countries to coordinate efforts and pool resources with the objective of making Europe a world leader in supercomputing.
To equip Europe with a cutting-edge supercomputing infrastructure, the EuroHPC JU has already procured 12 supercomputers, distributed across Europe including JUPITER in Germany, and Alice Recoque in France, Europe’s first exascale systems.
European scientists and users from the public sector and industry can benefit from EuroHPC supercomputers via the EuroHPC Access Calls no matter where in Europe they are located, to advance science and support the development of a wide range of applications with industrial, scientific and societal relevance for Europe.
Currently, the EuroHPC JU is also overseeing the implementation of 19 AI factories (AIF) across Europe, complemented by 13 AI Factory Antennas, to offer free, customised support to SMEs and startups.
The EuroHPC JU also funds research and innovation projects to develop a full European supercomputing supply chain, from processors and software to applications to be run on these supercomputers and know-how to develop strong European HPC expertise.
With the recent adoption of Council Regulation (EU) 2026/150, the EuroHPC JU’s mandate has been expanded with new action pillars dedicated to the deployment of AI Gigafactories across Europe and the advancement of quantum technologies.
About GENCI
Created by the French public authorities in 2007, GENCI (Grand Équipement National de Calcul Intensif) is a major research infrastructure. This public operator aims to democratise the use of digital simulation through high performance computing associated with the use of artificial intelligence, and quantum computing to support French scientific and industrial competitiveness.
GENCI is in charge of three missions:
- To implement the national strategy for the provision of high-performance computing resources, storage, massive data processing associated with Artificial Intelligence technologies and quantum computing, for the benefit of French scientific research, in conjunction with the 3 national computing centres (CEA/TGCC, CNRS/IDRIS, France Universités/CINES).
- Supporting the creation of an integrated ecosystem on a national and European level
- Promoting digital simulation and supercomputing to academic research and industry
GENCI is a civil company 49% owned by the State represented by the Ministry in charge of Higher Education and Research, 20% by the CEA, 20% by the CNRS, 10% by the Universities represented by France Universités and 1% by Inria.
Regarding the national quantum strategy GENCI is partner together with CEA and Inria of HQI, the French HPC hybrid Quantum Initiative funded by France2030.
Follow GENCI on LinkedIn, and visit their website https://www.genci.fr/
About Quandela
Quandela is a quantum computing company, specialised in industry-grade cloud, and on-premises solutions. It is a leading light of the tech world.
The company leverages semiconductor and photonic industries to manufacture qubit technologies and modules for quantum computing systems that scale. With a focus toward the development of useful quantum computing solutions, Quandela works on machines and algorithms for quantum advantage, to propel the industry toward error corrected system, enabling their Quantum Transformation along the journey.
About attocube
Attocube systems AG was founded in 2001 and is recognised for innovation and excellence in developing, manufacturing, and distributing cutting-edge components and solutions for nano- and quantum technology applications in research and industry. The portfolio includes market leading vibration-isolated cryostat systems, nano-positioners for ultra-precise positioning, highly precise displacement sensors, and microscope systems capable of operating under extreme environmental conditions such as ultra-high vacuum, cryogenic temperatures, or high magnetic fields. With the product line ‘Compact Mobile Cryogenics’ the company offers most compact and energy-efficient 19” cryostat systems that can be easily integrated into OEM systems, thus pushing the commercialisation of photon-based quantum applications one step further.
All products are developed and manufactured at the company's headquarters in Haar, Germany. An international team of physicists, engineers, software developers, and product designers collaborates closely from conception to delivery. Products are distributed globally, with attocube having a presence in the USA and a broad network of distributors serving customers in over 40 countries.
Details
- Publication date
- 14 April 2026
- Author
- European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking