This article is the second part of our article series, in which Benedict Lane (TU Delft) and Pieter Vermaas (TU Delft) explore the ethical, social, and political implications of open access and open science in quantum technology. While the first article introduced the central issues and challenges, in what follows the authors will delve deeper into the intricate relationship between maintaining open access and ensuring security.
Open access underpins open science, expanding opportunities for productive collaboration and encouraging the dissemination of useful findings. Public access promotes individual autonomy – empowering people to learn, experiment, and innovate, reducing barriers to social mobility. The perception of fair access also supports democratic legitimacy: when access is seen as fair, public trust in quantum technologies grows. The scientific progress of OpenSuperQPlus builds on this approach to equitable access. By using interoperable access models, it contributes to the translation of technologies and fosters research that is not dependent on the investment of individual players.
However, responsible access also requires careful attention to security, safety, and sovereignty concerns. In their recent report on export controls and quantum technologies, the Quantum Strategy Institute identifies several key reasons to restrict access to quantum computing on security and strategic grounds. Uncritical allocations of access to quantum computing may (i) put the power to decrypt strategically sensitive communications into the wrong hands and (ii) forego strategic technological advantages over competitors, for example, through reverse engineering. In their report on the potential impact of quantum technologies on law enforcement, Europol highlights the possibility of quantum computers efficiently guessing user passwords to combat abuse and terrorism offences, which have a major digital component. However, in the wrong hands, the capacity to access password-protected data is clearly problematic. EU member states are also under a legal obligation to limit exports of dual-use technologies falling under the Wassenaar Arrangement. Striking the right balance between openness and security, within the framework of the law, is an important task with scientific, economic, and societal implications.
The OpenSuperQPlus quantum computer will be a tangible symbol of Europe’s ambition to develop technological sovereignty and strategic autonomy. The Draghi Report – the European Commision’s report on the future of EU competitiveness – singled out cloud access to quantum computing provided from abroad (particular from US tech giants) as a critical European vulnerability, and domestic development of quantum computing capacity as crucial to Europe’s future scientific and industrial competitiveness on the global stage. The OpenSuperQPlus computer can therefore be seen an important strategic infrastructure at the heart of Europe’s technological and economic ambitions. Equitable access would ensure that all member states and citizens – with access granted based on need rather than on a transactional basis – can contribute to and benefit from the development quantum computing technologies in Europe. This will strengthen social cohesion and solidarity across the Union.
At the national level, needs-based allocation of access to the OpenSuperQPlus computer can support national talent development and research initiatives, providing tailwinds for national quantum strategies – Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Denmark, Ireland, and Luxembourg have all implemented or drafted national quantum strategies as of 2025.
The OpenSuperQPlus computer also represents an opportunity to promote core European values. The EU’s founding charter identifies democracy, human rights, and equality as foundational; the EU’s digital principles, as laid out in the European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles, encompass inclusion, participation, and the empowerment of individuals through access to digital infrastructure. The EU’s Quantum Manifesto seek to advance European quantum for the benefit of society.
Allocating access to the OpenSuperQPlus computer in a way that is consistent with these values can contribute to upholding them in meaningful ways. Inclusive access policies can ensure that the computer is employed in service of diverse societal needs, prevent monopolisation, and give smaller institutions, underserved regions, and marginalised groups more sway over Europe’s quantum future. As observed, allocating quantum computing time to non-expert educational users or mission-driven projects can lead to sustainable solutions to pressing societal problems. Likewise, openness and transparency in the allocation process empowers EU citizens to scrutinise the uses to which the OpenSuperQPlus computer is put, ensuring democratic accountability and public trust.
Europe has long excelled in fundamental research on quantum, from the paradigm-shifting breakthroughs of the 20th century to Europe’s current array of quantum tech start-ups (many of which – Alice & Bob, IQM, OrangeQS, Qruise, QuantWare – are partners in OpenSuperQPlus). By making choices about access that further promote European scientific excellence, we can consolidate and strengthen Europe’s world-leading position at the cutting edge of fundamental and applied quantum research.
However, the Draghi Report notes a persistent weakness in scaling up European start-ups into world-leading technology companies. Intelligent choices about access to the OpenSuperQPlus computer can contribute to addressing this weakness in the context of quantum computing. By prioritising ambitious projects aiming at more advanced levels of technological- and market-readiness, the OpenSuperQPlus computer can contribute to fostering much-needed industrial scaling-up in the European quantum technology sector. An ambitious-yet-principled access framework would ensure that this scaling up occurs in a balanced and mutually beneficial way across the EU – promoting growth across borders, fostering a truly European quantum industry.
In the next and final article, you can find out more about how OSQPlus researchers assess these important issues!
Did you miss the previous article on meaningful use of quantum technology? Read the full article here.