A look back at On board to Synergy 2025

On September 2 and 3, 2025, the CNRS headquarters in Paris hosted the third edition of On board to Synergy 2025, organised by the PEPR Quantum management team.

The aim of these two-day event was to bring together the PEPR community and interact with all stakeholders in the National Quantum Strategy. Consolidating synergies with other PEPRs and technological programmes within the national strategy was also one of the priorities of this event. These goals were largely achieved, with On board to Synergy 2025 providing a real opportunity for discussion among the 130 participants in attendance.

Read the interview with Sébastien Tanzilli, coordinator of the PEPR Quantum, in l’Usine Nouvelle for a mid-term review

The 22 PEPR projects in the spotlight

The first day highlighted the 22 projects in the programme. To do this, each project gave a presentation outlining its main challenges, its interactions within the National Strategy, and its developments and needs. This then led to discussions aimed at overcoming the associated technological barriers and developing existing or potential synergies between PEPR projects.

The day also gave young researchers an opportunity to network and showcase their direct contribution to these projects. Each project presentation was indeed followed by a flash presentation by a PhD student or post-doc on their work within the programme. Finally, a poster session was organised during the afternoon.

Collaborate with other PEPRs and technology programmes

The programme directors collaborating with the PEPR Quantum opened the second day of the event. This was an opportunity for them to speak to PEPR members about their respective themes and projects, including the ins and outs and other challenges involved. These presentations also underlined the interactions that already exist or could be developed between the programmes.

Among the guest speakers:

Sonia Ben Mokhtar, director of the PEPR Cybersecurity for the CNRS

Isabelle Sagnes, director of the PEPR Electronics for the CNRS

Serge Verdeyme, co-director of the Future networks PEPR for the CNRS

Lucian Prejbeanu, co-director of the PEPR SPIN for the CEA

Marc Delpech, co-pilot of CRYONEXT for the CEA

Johan Boullet, scientific manager at atomQTRL

Tanguy Sassolas, head of the QLoop quantum and high-performance computing programme

Romain Granier, PhD student at ONERA, presents his thesis as part of the CARAMELS project. © PEPR Quantique
Olivier Alibart, coordinator of the QCommTestbed project, during the project presentation session. © PEPR Quantique
Sébastien Tanzilli, coordinator of the PEPR Quantique programme, concludes the first day of On board to Synergy 2025. © PEPR Quantique
Sonia Ben Mokhtar, director of the PEPR Cybersecurity for the CNRS. © PEPR Quantique
Isabelle Sagnes, director of the PEPR Electronics for the CNRS. © PEPR Quantique
Serge Verdeyme, co-director of the Future networks PEPR for the CNRS. © PEPR Quantique
Lucian Prejbeanu, co-director of the PEPR SPIN for the CEA. © PEPR Quantique
Marc Delpech, co-pilot of CRYONEXT for the CEA. © PEPR Quantique
Johan Boullet, scientific manager at atomQTRL. © PEPR Quantique
Tanguy Sassolas, head of the QLoop quantum and high-performance computing programme. © PEPR Quantique

A foresight study

The rest of the day was devoted to pursuing synergies already underway and preparing for upcoming major developments in the programme’s areas of focus. This was made possible by holding five parallel workshops:

Solid-State Qubits, led by Silvano de Franceschi, François Lefloch, Isabelle Sagnes and presented in plenary session by Patrice Bertet

Atom Qubits, led by Michel Brune, Guido Pupillo, Shannon Whitlock

Photonics Qubits, led by Olivier Alibart, Ségolène Olivier

Hardware & Software Crossroads, led by Simon Perdrix, Pascale Senellart

Networks, classical & quantum-safe security, led by Romain Alléaume

The facilitators of the five workshops then came together to present to participants a joint summary of the work carried out during the day. The purpose was to consolidate all of the workshop conclusions in order to cross-reference scientific and technological developments in different fields and identify potential synergies. It was also an exercise in foresight, as the workshops defined positioning issues for the coming years. This work will subsequently be used to draw up a foresight document for a new programme after 2030.

The PEPR Quantum management team would like to warmly thank all participants for their involvement. On board to Synergy 2025 was the starting point for a new collective effort focusing on developments in quantum technologies and the adaptations they entail.