Five out of twelve in the term – but now the quantum technology strategy is here
To say the least, late in its term, the government has now adopted a strategy for quantum technology—Sweden’s Strategy for the Field of Quantum Technology. The government lays out its plan in 19 pages, richly illustrated. On the whole, it is, of course, a good thing that one of our crucial technological areas is getting a clearer strategy. It is also important that the government takes these key technological areas seriously and develops policies for them. But there are, of course, objections.
The expectation was that Sweden, as a leading and strong research nation, would have been an early adopter of its own strategy for quantum technology. Several other EU countries have already had quantum strategies and initiatives in place for a number of years. However, it was certainly wise of the government to task the Swedish Research Council with developing a basis for the strategy, rather than drafting it itself behind closed doors at the Government Offices.
The Swedish Research Council was tasked with this in 2024, but by then countries such as France (2021), Germany, Denmark, and Ireland (2023) had already adopted similar plans. Not to mention the Netherlands, which was an early adopter (2019). Even neighboring Finland beat Sweden to it. It would also have been beneficial for Sweden to have its strategic issues clearly defined ahead of the EU’s quantum technology strategy, which was adopted a little over a year ago.
One positive aspect is that, with this strategy, the government is following up on the direction set out in the research bill for this term of office, which included initiatives specifically in the field of quantum technology.
Other issues are pressing, such as ensuring that more students who begin engineering programs complete their studies—although this is more of a broad issue of skills supply than one specific to quantum technology. For obvious reasons, security issues receive a great deal of attention, not least the need for quantum-secure encryption. But it is at least as important to keep an eye on the opportunities: how quantum technology can be translated into new products, services, and competitiveness for Swedish companies.
"It is an important task for the government to participate in international efforts in several technology fields, such as AI."
TechSverige has previously emphasized that it is an important task for the government to participate in international efforts in several tech fields, such as AI. Political and power issues are becoming increasingly important and often decisive for Swedish interests—not least for the business sector’s access to the latest technology. As the government points out in the strategy, this also applies to quantum technology. It is therefore encouraging that the strategy includes a specific sub-goal of creating the conditions for other actors—such as government agencies, academia, and, of course, companies—to participate in their respective fields.
The business perspective is, of course, very welcome. One of the strategy’s five overarching goals is “Strong research, innovation, and industrial leadership.” The government wants more Swedish companies, innovators, and research organizations to contribute to investments in the field of quantum technology, and the mobilization of private capital should increase to stimulate the establishment of new businesses and joint ventures. This is crucial for ensuring that Swedish-funded innovation and research can be commercialized and scaled up to become future industries in Sweden. This may also be the strategy’s most important test. Sweden is already strong in research. The challenge is to ensure that research results, innovations, and new companies can also grow and be industrialized here. This requires not only research funding but also access to testing environments, expertise, infrastructure, and capital throughout the entire journey from the lab to the market.
So the overall assessment isn’t really a simple yes or no, for or against, zero or one—but rather something in between. Commendable, but perhaps a little late? Ambitious, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.
We’ll have to see how fleeting or enduring this strategy is after the election. Most importantly, Sweden must continue to capitalize on the cutting-edge research being conducted in the field of quantum technology, and the business sector must be able to build competitiveness with the help of this technology and its applications.
Fredrik Sand
Economic Policy Expert
TechSverige