For five years the UK government has been investing in quantum technologies, including photonics. The UK National Quantum Technologies Programme is set to invest £1B in its lifetime. This talk describes how the programme is pivoting from investing in university led commercialisation to funding major collaborative projects with component developers, integrators and end users.
For five years the UK government has been investing in quantum technologies, including photonics. The UK National Quantum Technologies Programme is set to invest £1B in its lifetime. This talk describes how the programme is pivoting from investing in university led commercialisation to funding major collaborative projects with component developers, integrators and end users.
Abstract The UK has, through a mix of government and industry funding, committed more than £1Bn over ten years to a coordinated programme in quantum technology. Five years into this programme, the UK National Quantum Technology Programme has induced a step change in the nation’s capabilities for establishing a new sector in future quantum information technologies. We describe how the programme arose and the activities it has supported and influenced to deliver these new capabilities, building on a first phase of over £385M investment across several UK government agencies. As the programme enters its second phase, with a further substantial investment by UK government and global industries, we review the prospects for ensuring the advanced quantum science and demonstrator platforms in imaging, sensing, timing, communications and computing developed over the past five years drive the formation of the sector and embed quantum tech in a broad range of industries by means of new products and services.
The UK National Quantum Technology Programme was launched in 2017 and was the first example of a nationally coordinated initiative bringing together academia, industry and government to accelerate development and commercialisation of quantum technologies. The programme, now in its second phase and worth £1B (~$1.25B), has also inspired the creation of other national initiatives across the globe, including the $1.2B US National Quantum Initiative. According to the latest statistics available, between 2017 and 2018 companies active in quantum technology raised more than $450M in private equity funding. This amount of investment and the burgeoning activity in this field is expected to produce game-changing technology, but the question remains: when and where will this happen first? Join us to hear expert perspectives from those at the frontiers of quantum technology and its commercialization, as well as informed commentary on the trends emerging in this fast-changing arena. Learn how industry leaders are addressing the challenges of this exciting new arena and identifying opportunities to grow their business.
A new generation of quantum technology based systems, exploiting effects such as superposition and entanglement, will enable widespread, highly disruptive applications which are expected to be of great economic significance. However, the technology is only just emerging from the physics laboratory and generally remains at low TRLs. The question is: where, and when, will this impact be first manifest? The UK, with substantial Government backing, has embarked on an ambitious national program to accelerate the process of technology transfer with the objective of seizing a significant and sustainable share of the future economic benefit for the UK. Many challenges and uncertainties remain but the combined and co-ordinated efforts of Government, Industry and Academia are making great progress. The level of collaboration is unusually high and the goal of embedding a “QT Ecosystem” in the UK looks to be attainable. This paper describes the UK national programme, its key players, and their respective roles. It will illustrate some of the likely first commercial applications and provide a status update. Some of the challenges that might prevent realisation of the goal will be highlighted.
The UK National Quantum Technology Hub in Sensors and Metrology is one of four flagship initiatives in the UK National of Quantum Technology Program. As part of a 20-year vision it translates laboratory demonstrations to deployable practical devices, with game-changing miniaturized components and prototypes that transform the state-of-the-art for quantum sensors and metrology. It brings together experts from the Universities of Birmingham, Glasgow, Nottingham, Southampton, Strathclyde and Sussex, NPL and currently links to over 15 leading international academic institutions and over 70 companies to build the supply chains and routes to market needed to bring 10–1000x improvements in sensing applications. It seeks, and is open to, additional partners for new application development and creates a point of easy open access to the facilities and supply chains that it stimulates or nurtures.
Quantum technologies have a huge innovation potential and are set to revolutionize key sectors such as healthcare, finance, manufacturing, defense, and aerospace, offering advances in everyone's health, prosperity and security.We expect the market in 2024 to heat up with more commercial products.Despite the value creation potential of quantum sensing, quantum communications and quantum computing of several trillion euros over the next ten years and immense private and government funding, only very few beneficiaries have developed a strategy to build up expertise and collaborations -the 'late follower' strategy could prove to be a dead end.In 2024 we will see more quantum sensors that can yield unparalleled resolution revolutionizing, e.g., navigation and biomedical applications like brain imaging.The trend towards miniaturization and full integration of photonic components will further transform traditionally bulky systems, e.g., for quantum key distribution into affordable devices for the mass market.Furthermore, we'll probably see more R&D on fundamental concepts such as all-optical analog-to-digital converters paving the way to more efficient, low latency and high bandwidth applications in quantum communication and quantum computing systems.Photonic quantum computers must meet initial benchmarks to remain competitive as the or one of the leading platforms.Advancements in quantum machine learning where quantum photonics platforms have already demonstrated notable speedup, especially when resources are limited, will gain momentum.In return, photonic component designers will be able to benefit from reinforced learning once QCs crosses the threshold into practical, real-world applications.Quantum companies, end users, investors, and governments worldwide rely on QBN, recognized as the world's leading business network, think tank and nucleus of the global quantum ecosystem.They share our vision to 'establish quantum for good' to tackle global and societal challenges.Let's build a resilient and sustainable quantum economy in 2024 and the years to come!