US chip maker Intel is investing almost €45m in a joint project with Delft University of Technology and the TNO research group to accelerate advancements in quantum computing.

The 10-year agreement will see Intel providing ‘significant’ engineering resources for Delft’s quantum research institute QuTech as well as on and off site support.

Experts predict that quantum computing – a much faster computing method using quantum bits rather than binary digits – could be available and ready for use in the next 12 years.

‘A fully functioning quantum computer is at least a dozen years away, but the practical and theoretical research efforts we’re announcing today mark an important milestone in the journey to bring it closer to reality,’ said Mike Mayberry, Intel vice president and managing director of Intel Labs, in a statement.

Microsoft and Google are also working to develop quantum computers.