TECNALIA and QUBIZ.team join forces to take industrial quantum sensing from the laboratory to the marketplace
The aim is to speed up the leap taken by quantum sensing from the laboratory to the marketplace, with a direct impact on efficiency, safety and quality, supported by TECNALIA's Quantum Tech Lab
Bilbao, 7 January 2026. The TECNALIA research and technological development centre and QUBIZ.team, the Bilbao-based deep-tech pioneer in quantum sensing and advanced metrology, have signed a framework agreement to promote the development of robust, traceable quantum sensors, ready to operate in real industrial environments. The aim is to speed up the leap taken by quantum sensing from the laboratory to the marketplace, with a direct impact on efficiency, safety and quality.
- The alliance is supported by TECNALIA's Quantum Tech Lab, a pioneering laboratory in the design and manufacture of quantum sensors that is a leader in Europe. It is a unique scientific-technology infrastructure for ultra-resolution sensing based on nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centres in diamond, operable under ambient conditions. The installations are equipped for prototyping magnetometry applications, from identification, magnetic measurement, image analysis, metrology, to positioning applications. 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 main markets are biohealth (sensors for microscopy, benchtop NMR spectroscopy, compact magnetometers, lab-on-a-chip, flow analysis systems, brain interfaces, etc.) and mobility (gyroscopes, magnetic navigation, accelerometers, etc.)
- QUBIZ.team develops devices based on ultra-sensitive quantum sensors, capable of detecting minute changes in magnetic fields, pressure, temperature or characterising specific molecules, and integrates them into devices that provide purpose-driven solutions – from embedded electronics to the edge/IIoT and the data layer – bringing precision sensing closer to real industrial problems.
This initiative is part of the BIQAIN – Bizkaia Quantum Advanced Industries strategy, through which the Provincial Council of Bizkaia (DFB) is committed to quantum technologies as a lever for social development and business competitiveness, making infrastructure, knowledge and services available to the ecosystem to develop industrial use cases.
Quantum sensors in industry
“We have taken a big leap forward with these innovative infrastructures in the R&D of quantum sensors that can be operated in real-world conditions. With QUBIZ.team, this leap has becomes a measurable industrial value”, said Joseba Laka, director of the Digital Unit at TECNALIA.
As Jorge de la Herrán y Crespo, co-founder and chairman of QUBIZ.team, pointed out, "This proven industrial track record is supported by QUBIZ.team's growing involvement on the European stage as a leader in sensing and quantum metrology”. Recently, the Basque deep-tech has been chosen to be a member of the Strategic Advisory Board for the EU's FET Flagship on Quantum Technologies, the body that defines the roadmap for these technologies on the continent. “QUBIZ.team also heads the Expert Group on Quantum Sensing and Metrology of the European Quantum Industry Consortium (QuIC - European Quantum Industry Cluster), positioning the Basque Country at the centre of decision-making in the sector”, he stressed.
“BIQAIN and Lantik see this collaboration as a clear example of how the alliance between a large technology centre and deeptech startups can become a driver of socio-economic prosperity. Initiatives such as the one undertaken by TECNALIA and QUBIZ.team help to drive the ecosystem, stimulate collaborative business projects, attract talent and investment and position Bizkaia as a leading node in quantum technologies applied to industry”, said Valentín García, Director of Innovation at Lantik, the Provincial Council of Bizkaia’s technology and innovation company.
- Furthermore, this alliance is part of the BasQ programme, an initiative backed by the Basque Government and provincial councils to develop and foster quantum technologies in the Basque Country.
- Both organisations will work on use cases such as monitoring critical assets, non-destructive inspection, predictive maintenance and magnetic mapping, with pilot schemes in sectors such as the aerospace, automotive, healthcare, pharma/genetics and rail industries.
About QUBIZ.team
QUBIZ.team is a deep-tech pioneer in quantum sensing and advanced metrology, dedicated to transforming quantum precision into robust industrial and healthcare solutions. Based in the B Accelerator Tower (BAT) space in Bilbao, the company researches and develops ultra-sensitive sensors with applications related to detecting magnetic fields, pressure, temperature and harmful molecules (PFAS), aimed at precision measurement with a positive impact.
Internationally, QUBIZ.team plays a strategic leadership role: it chairs the Expert Working Group on Quantum Sensing and Metrology of the European Quantum Industry Consortium (QuIC) and is a member of the Strategic Advisory Board of the Quantum Flagship of the European Commission. It has also been a member of the steering committee of the QBC Summit 2025 (CERN), where it backed the "Quantum for Good” initiative. The company is working to connect the Basque (BIQAIN) and national ecosystems with the European state-of-the-art.
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.