The government has announced 14 projects sharing £14m through Innovate UK’s Quantum Sensing Mission Primer awards, to support the development of next-generation sensors that could be used in healthcare, transport and defence.
The funding announcement ties in with the National Quantum Technologies Showcase, which brought thousands of researchers, investors and global policymakers together in London. The government has positioned the event as a step forward to unlock quantum’s vast potential to drive economic growth and national renewal, and help tackle major challenges such as health and climate.
Projects include a portable eye scanner that could replace the large and expensive optical coherence tomography machines currently relied on in hospitals, and a new type of sensor to enable civil engineers to detect buried structures without the need for costly excavation works.
Along with funding for projects, the UK’s National Quantum Computing Centre has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology. The government hopes the MoU will enable easier UK-Japan collaboration in quantum computing research, as well as talent exchange.
Through £30m of Innovate UK support, seven quantum computing testbeds have been deployed at the National Quantum Computing Centre. These will enable businesses to demonstrate and validate new quantum computing technologies.
Earlier this week, the National Metrology Institute – Quantum was launched at the National Physical Laboratory. The UK is a co-chair of this quantum research and development partnership across the G7 and Australia.
“Quantum technologies are changing the world – from ultra-sensitive sensors to help diagnose diseases through to the potential of a new type of computer that can do things in seconds that would take today’s computers decades to compute,” said science minister Patrick Vallance. “The UK already has considerable strengths, and lots of exciting new companies have sprung up in the UK. The funding and agreements being announced today aim to support this exciting and important growth area right across the country.”
The package of support includes the Quantum Centre for Nuclear Defence and Security at the Atomic Weapons Establishment, which is working with the University of Strathclyde to bring quantum computing and sensing to bear in nuclear science and technology.
There is also a £300,000 government investment to relaunch the Scotland-California quantum and photonics partnership, which brings quantum researchers from across the universities of Strathclyde, St Andrews, Heriot-Watt and Glasgow together with colleagues from Stanford and the California Institute of Technology.
The government’s industrial strategy includes £670m for quantum computing. Among its goals is the development of quantum computers, which are capable of outperforming conventional supercomputers, by 2036.
UKQuantum, the industry body for quantum computing in the UK, welcomed the UK’s plans for quantum computing.
“The achievements of the UK’s National Quantum Technologies Programme over the last 10 years have positioned the UK as one of the world’s leading quantum nations,” said Jonathan Legh-Smith, executive director of UKQuantum.
“Our companies have developed world-leading technologies across the whole quantum domain – including sensing, imaging, clocks and computing – with strong engagements across sectors such as transport, finance, telecommunications and defence.”