UK industry should increase its level of investment in quantum technologies according to a report compiled by the country's chief scientific adviser, Sir Mark Walport.
The UK is in danger of falling behind in quantum information – a field in which it currently plays a leading role. According to a new report carried out for the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), new funding is needed to confront an "explosion of activity in this field worldwide, coupled with generous levels of funding available to groups in the UK's competitor countries". Researchers in the field claim that a new £41m "basic-technology" programme, which was designed to fund research in quantum information, is now unlikely to provide significant extra resources for the field.