TECNALIA has opened a pioneering laboratory for the design and manufacture of quantum sensors
- Europe's leading Quantum Lab infrastructure will create quantum sensors using technology based on synthetic diamonds
- Quantum sensors are key to advancing in new applications in the field of health, such as drug development, or in industry, with the design of new materials.
- The laboratory is made up of four areas in order to cover the entire process of creating and manufacturing sensors: from the creation of the material to the preparation of prototype devices.
Bilbao, 29th September 2025 The TECNALIA research and technological development centre has developed a pioneering laboratory for the creation of quantum sensors. It is a benchmark infrastructure in Europe, capable of designing and fully manufacturing quantum sensors, using technology based on synthetic diamonds. These quantum sensors will be key to advancing in new applications in the field of health, such as drug development, or in industry, with the design of new materials.
The Quantum Lab, located on the Euskadi Technology Park in Bizkaia, has been inaugurated today in the presence of the Deputy General of Bizkaia, Elixabete Etxanobe, the Basque Government’s Minister of Industry, Energy Transition and Sustainability, Mikel Jauregi, Jesús Valero, Managing Director of TECNALIA and Joseba Laka, Digital Director of TECNALIA.
Elixabete Etxanobe, the Deputy General of Bizkaia, pointed out that "this laboratory is an essential part of our Bizkaia Quantum Advanced Industries strategy, Biqain, which seeks to accelerate the transfer of quantum technology to industry. Therefore, we are fostering the development of real use cases in local companies. Today, I would like to announce that we have already launched 14 quantum projects in companies in Bizkaia backed by Bizkaia Provincial Council by means of investment of €2.7 million". To reinforce the talent needed to carry out this strategy, "this year we are going to approve a draft provincial regulation to attract qualified professionals".
The Basque Government's Minister for Industry, Energy Transition and Sustainability, Mikel Jauregi, highlighted that this inauguration "demonstrates that when research, industry and institutions work hand in hand, the Basque Country is capable of taking decisive steps towards the future". He also indicated that "this TECNALIA quantum sensory laboratory is shaping one of the priorities of our Industry Plan: science of excellence should be translated into productive capacities and real industrial opportunities in the Basque Country". In this regard, Jauregi pointed out that quantum and artificial intelligence are strategic axes in the Basque Country Industry Plan 2030. "They are levers to strengthen our competitiveness, ensuring our technological sovereignty and placing the Basque Country at the forefront of industrial innovation".
Jesús Valero, Managing Director of the centre, explained that "quantum technologies are a breakthrough that are already redefining the scientific, industrial and economic ecosystem. At TECNALIA, we are convinced that this technology will redefine cybersecurity, quantum communications, sensor systems, and quantum metrology, if it is not already doing so. We must therefore foster innovation ecosystems that encourage progress in this field. Today, we are opening a laboratory that is key to moving forward in strategic sovereignty and the development of local production capacities in the field of quantum sensing technologies, which is precisely the quantum discipline that is closest to the market and which is expected to have the closest real economic impact in time".
Quantum sensors can measure physical parameters, such as magnetic fields, electric fields, temperature or pressure, with greater accuracy than conventional systems, enabling the development of completely new applications. The most foreseeable application within the laboratory is related to magnetometry. In industry, this type of magnetic sensors are used to detect defects in metal products or to measure the properties of magnetic materials (a field that is expanding rapidly with the electrification of energy). In chemistry, they are used to study the molecular structure of compounds, providing detailed information on their composition and properties. In healthcare, they have numerous applications in magnetic resonance imaging, diagnostics or monitoring. In the primary sector, they are used for mining exploration, precision agriculture or food quality control.
Projects to increase business competitiveness
In order to develop the full potential of quantum technologies, TECNALIA has set up a Quantum Lab, a laboratory with investment of more than €5 million and which complements the equipment that has been used to date with this technology. The infrastructure consists of four areas to cover the entire process of designing and creating quantum sensors.
- First of all, the materials laboratory has the necessary equipment to create the synthetic diamonds that are used as the substrate for the quantum sensing chips. According to Valero, "there is no single technology for creating quantum sensors, but we have chosen synthetic diamonds because they are a robust, scalable and highly sensitive option for quantum sensing”.
- The second space prepares the diamonds for their transformation into sensors, through a technology that consists of the implantation of nitrogen to create different densities depending on their intended use. Thirdly, the characterisation laboratory has the tools to check that the manufacturing processes used in the previous stages are living up to expectations in terms of quality. Finally, the application development laboratory prepares the prototypes of the devices.
This laboratory seeks to be a development tool for companies and to boost their competitiveness through the implementation of new technologies with global impact. In fact, this laboratory is part of a European initiative, called "pilot lines", involving 30 organisations from 13 European countries, so that industry can test advanced processes at these facilities, manufacture prototypes and accelerate the transition of innovation to the market, reducing risks and promoting European technological sovereignty in microchips, specifically diamond-based quantum technologies.
This laboratory is the result of collaboration with the surrounding ecosystem and is backed by the Basque Government through its Azpitek programme and Bizkaia Provincial Council, through the Biqain, Bizkaia Quantum Advanced Industries initiative.
About TECNALIA
TECNALIA is the largest applied research and technological development centre in Spain, a European benchmark and member of the Basque Research and Technology Alliance. TECNALIA works with companies and institutions to improve their competitiveness, people's quality of life and achieve sustainable growth, thanks to a team of more than 1,500 people committed to building a better world through technological research and innovation. This is why TECNALIA's research has a real impact on society and generates benefits in the form of quality of life and progress. Its main areas of action are: smart manufacturing, digital transformation, energy transition, sustainable mobility, health and food, urban ecosystem and circular economy.
In the latest brand awareness and positioning study carried out by the European Research Survey (ERS) in 2022, TECNALIA tops the list regarding R&D and Innovation brand awareness.
