Mr. Chair, members of the committee, thank you for inviting me to appear before the committee.
I head up PRIMA Québec, the advanced materials research and innovation cluster.
PRIMA is a sectoral industrial research group. There are nine in Quebec in different sectors, which are mandated by the Quebec government to facilitate and support the advanced materials ecosystem through collaborative innovation.
We therefore bridge the gap between the research and industry communities by fostering collaborative innovation. In other words, we foster relationships between research and industry players, and we support the development of projects that we are then able to fund.
Concretely, these projects will enable companies to tap into research expertise so they can innovate, be more competitive and, most importantly, stand out in the marketplace eventually.
Over the past five years, we have supported more than 90 projects with a total value of close to $90 million, which brought 190 industry partners together with 26 research partners. Most importantly, these projects led to the training of over 120 master's students and more than 275 doctoral and postdoctoral students who, as you know, will form a highly qualified and useful workforce for industry.
With respect to quantum computing, eight projects with a total value of $8 million have been initiated over the past two years, and this will cultivate talent.
Professor Alexandre Blais, of the Université de Sherbrooke, whom you heard on March 25, made the link between quantum and advanced materials.
Let me say a few words about advanced materials, which play a strategic role in all economic sectors. Advanced materials are new or significantly improved materials that provide a significant performance advantage, physical or functional, over conventional materials.
Physical performance refers to materials that provide improved electrical and thermal conductivity, as well as materials that have magnetic properties.
Functional performance refers to hydrophobic, icephobic and biodegradable materials, as well as self-healing and smart materials.
At the same time, I'd like to point out that advanced equipment is key when developing advanced materials, and this plays a critical role in terms of a company's capacity to innovate.
The advanced materials sector is primarily made up of innovative small and medium-sized enterprises, or SMEs, which, although they are active in research and development, don't always have the internal resources to carry out characterization tests, material synthesis, surface treatment or scaling.
As a result, access to equipment and related expertise is critical, not only to seal the transition from technology to innovation, but also to help businesses gain access to various markets.
All of this and access to advanced equipment are equally prevalent in the quantum technologies sector.
Finally, with respect to the committee's focus, quantum is seen as an enabling force and driver in the discovery and development of new materials, processes that integrate materials, or in the development of equipment for their production or characterization. Simply put, quantum accelerates simulations and will allow us to combine all kinds of properties and functionality that we want to obtain, and do it more quickly.
To continue to meet their customers' needs, big industrial players, particularly those whose products and applications rely on solid simulation, manufacturing and characterization capabilities for new materials, must invest in modelling, developing new materials and optimizing processes to implement the materials.
As others have already mentioned, however, we will need to increase awareness of the benefits of quantum technologies among these industrial players.
I would be happy to answer your questions.
Thank you for your attention.