SPROUT

A scalable platform for quantum technologies

Quantum technologies and their commercial exploitation are among the most important development areas for the coming decades. While significant progress has been made in researching quantum effects, the complexity of current cryogenic cooling solutions continues to limit their adoption and scaling for commercial applications.

To address this challenge, Delft Circuits and kiutra partnered on the SPROUT project, launched in 2021.

The goal of this project was to provide a fully integrated, turnkey cooling platform as the go-to solution for quick and reliable testing of components or building multi-node quantum networks. To achieve this, we set out to develop a platform capable of reaching temperatures as low as 50 mK without relying on expensive and scarce helium-3, while incorporating integrated electronics to support quantum experiments.

A significant milestone was reached when a temperature of 20 mK was successfully measured at kiutra’s lab testbed. The platform also offers extensive wiring capacity while retaining enough cooling power to operate quantum devices, including quantum computing chips based on superconducting qubits.

Delft Circuits played a crucial role as an ideal and essential partner, contributing their innovative high-performance cabling. Their cabling design provided a space-saving solution with low heat-load, which was vital to the project’s success. The cryostat was integrated into a compact, 19″ rack-sized format, making it suitable for deployment in data center environments.

The SPROUT project concluded in December 2024, marking a significant step toward scalable and accessible cryogenic solutions for advancing quantum technologies.