The UK government has announced a fresh £14 million wave of investment to help turn quantum science from lab theory into real-world solutions, with projects ranging from portable hospital eye scanners to underground mapping sensors that could revolutionise civil engineering.
The announcement came on 7 November at the National Quantum Technologies Showcase in London, a major event bringing together researchers, investors, and policymakers from around the world.
The government’s message is clear: Britain wants to move quantum out of the laboratory and into hospitals, rail networks, and defence systems.
The funding, channelled through Innovate UK’s Quantum Sensing Mission Primer awards, will support 14 pioneering projects.
These span healthcare, transport, nuclear science, and defence, each aiming to develop next-generation sensors that use quantum principles to detect, measure, or analyse in ways classical technologies can’t match.
Some of the standout projects include:
Siloton Limited – developing a quantum eye scanner that could replace bulky, expensive OCT (optical coherence tomography) machines currently used in hospitals. Portable and affordable, it could be a breakthrough in tackling NHS ophthalmology backlogs — the busiest outpatient speciality in the service.
Cerca Magnetics Limited, a University of Nottingham spinout, is designing the first quantum brain scanner for epilepsy diagnosis. By measuring the tiniest magnetic fields produced by neural activity, it could vastly outperform existing imaging technologies.
Xairos UK’s “TimeLink” aims to build a quantum timing unit — a new way to synchronise communications and financial transactions without relying on vulnerable GPS satellite signals.
Delta G Limited’s “Gravity Cartography Mission” will create mobile quantum gravity gradiometers to detect underground tunnels and structures — a huge benefit for construction, mining, and defence.
Monirail Ltd’s “RQINS” project is developing a quantum navigation system for rail networks, including the London Underground, which could help trains run on time even without GPS signals.
NPL Management Limited (the National Physical Laboratory) is advancing quantum sensors for Orbitrap mass spectrometry, speeding up the detection of cancer and other diseases through blood tests.
Curtiss-Wright Wimborne Limited is working on a quantum tritium analyser to improve monitoring in nuclear fusion reactors, potentially helping unlock clean, limitless energy.
Science Minister Lord Vallance hailed the announcements as a sign that the UK is “changing the world” through quantum.
“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,” he said.
He added that the UK’s existing strengths and growing ecosystem of quantum startups are positioning the country as a leader in the global quantum race.
A decade of quantum momentum
It’s been 11 years since the UK launched its National Quantum Technologies Programme, a unique collaboration between academia, industry, and government.
Over that decade, the country has quietly built one of the world’s strongest quantum research and innovation landscapes.
Jonathan Legh-Smith, Executive Director of UKQuantum, noted that Britain’s companies are already global leaders in areas from sensing and imaging to 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,” he said. “The announcements today demonstrate that the translation of innovation to commercial reality is already well underway.”
That translation, from physics experiment to working product, is crucial. Quantum technologies exploit the strange behaviours of particles at subatomic scales, allowing devices to achieve levels of sensitivity or processing power far beyond traditional systems.
Quantum computers, for instance, can perform certain calculations in seconds that would take classical computers decades.
According to government forecasts, quantum could add £11 billion to the UK economy by 2045 and support more than 100,000 jobs.
Beyond the £14 million funding pot, the Showcase also saw a series of international partnerships announced, signalling that quantum is as much about diplomacy as it is about discovery.
The UK’s National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) to enhance collaboration in quantum computing research and talent exchange.
The Scotland–California quantum and photonics partnership (SU2P) has been relaunched with £300,000 in government support, linking leading Scottish universities, Strathclyde, St Andrews, Heriot-Watt, and Glasgow, with Stanford University and Caltech in the US.
Earlier this week, the National Physical Laboratory launched the National Metrology Institute – Quantum (NMI-Q), a new global partnership across the G7 plus Australia. The UK will co-chair its inaugural term alongside the United States.
A joint UK–Canada funding call, backed by £3.5 million from Innovate UK, is supporting research into quantum communications both on land and in space.
And on 10 November, the UK–Singapore SpeQtre satellite is set to launch, testing quantum-encrypted communications in space, a key step toward ultra-secure data transmission networks.
Quantum for national security and defence
Defence and national security are also firmly in the government’s sights. The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) is launching a Quantum Centre for Nuclear Defence and Security (QCNDS) in partnership with the University of Strathclyde, the University of Birmingham, and the University of Oxford.
The centre will apply quantum computing and sensing to nuclear science, including using quantum tools to assess materials and components without dismantling them.
The work will support AWE’s mission of keeping the UK safe, while strengthening domestic expertise in quantum technologies relevant to national defence.
Another key milestone is the successful deployment of all seven quantum computing testbeds at the NQCC this year, backed by £30 million from Innovate UK.
These operationally ready hardware systems will let businesses and researchers trial new quantum computing technologies in real-world conditions, speeding up the journey from prototype to product.
By securing these testbeds early, the NQCC has helped de-risk innovation for startups and developers, meaning that breakthroughs can be brought to market faster.
The UK government invested £121 million in quantum research this financial year, part of its National Quantum Missions, which align with the broader “Plan for Change” focusing on economic growth, health, climate resilience, and national security.
Combined with the £670 million for quantum computing pledged under the Industrial Strategy, this represents one of the largest and longest-term commitments to quantum technology by any government worldwide.
