The Council of State rules in favour of Tea Tek regarding the supercomputer tender
The Neapolitan company had challenged the procedure, arguing that the extension of the deadlines ordered by the Campania Region was unlawful
The second act in the legal battle currently being waged over the supply of a quantum supercomputer to the Campania Region and, through it, to the University of Salerno. Yesterday, the Council of State handed down a ruling confirming the definitive halt to the 61.2 million contract for the Campania Region’s Quantum Valley project, effectively ruling in favour of Tea Tek, the Naples-based company, best known for its involvement in the reindustrialisation of the former Whirlpool factory in Naples, with an investment exceeding 90 million.
The background. The tender to select a contractor to supply a quantum computer, worth 61.2 million, dates back to February 2025. At the heart of the legal dispute is the extension of the tender deadline granted by the Campania Region – under the administration led at the time by Vincenzo De Luca – just a few hours before the 10 February 2025 deadline, which was subsequently postponed to 17 February. This decision was contested by Tea Tek, the only Neapolitan company in the tender, led by Felice Granisso and represented by lawyer Alfonso Erra, which came second behind the IT sector giant.
The tender process continues: on 17 February, further bids are submitted, including those from IBM and other major hi-tech companies. When the envelopes are opened, IBM is declared the winner of the tender, followed by Tea Tek in second place.
The Neapolitan company is not giving up and is waging its legal battle without allowing itself to be intimidated by competitors who are the industry giants, such as the multinational IBM. Moreover, Tea Tek has decided to invest in quantum technologies, given that it is already working on a major project involving a supercomputer to be installed at the research centre currently under construction in Naples (see the article in *Il Sole 24 Ore* dated 19 August).
The appeal gets underway: Tea Tek and its lawyers argue that the extension of the tender deadlines is unlawful for various reasons. Furthermore, they highlight other irregularities in the winning bid as well. The Campania Regional Government initially defended itself by citing operational difficulties faced by foreign operators, and then a ‘malfunction’ in the IT system used for the tender. However, this failed to convince the judges and the Region lost the case at both first and second instance. The procedure now returns to the stage prior to the extension, with only Tea Tek’s bid to be assessed. This does not mean that the contract will automatically be awarded to the Neapolitan firm: the Council of State has also rejected the cross-appeal in which the Neapolitan company sought to be directly awarded the contract, reiterating that the Region retains full discretion in assessing whether the bid is favourable and may, if it sees fit, decide not to award the contract. In the meantime, however, the Campania Region and IBM have been ordered to pay €5,000 in legal costs.
