Professor Tim Spiller, Director of the Quantum Communications Hub led by the University of York, discusses how the UK is working to propel innovation in quantum technologies.
Quantum technology is an emerging field of innovation that utilises the properties of quantum physics to achieve functionality and performance across a whole range of technologies, that cannot be obtained using classical physics, which forms the basis for all our conventional and familiar IT. Quantum technologies hold the power to transform a variety of different fields, from healthcare to sustainability. However, taking quantum innovation from a research idea to a commercialised product requires great investment and work. With this said, many countries around the world have made commitments in recent years to accelerate their quantum space, with the UK being a clear and trail-blazing example.
In 2014, the UK launched the National Quantum Technologies Programme (NQTP) to support ideas, innovation and investment to secure UK advantage and opportunities in the growing quantum era. The programme is a £1bn collaboration between industry, academia and government and helps to transform leading-edge science into new products and services.
The launch of the NQTP saw the formation of four key Hubs that represent broad areas of focus into which the national programme is divided. These include Communications, Sensors and Timing, Enhanced Imaging and Computing. Each Hub brings together UK-wide expertise from universities, national laboratories, business development and industry partners, to steer proposed developments in each focus area.
This year, UK quantum technologies saw a further £2.5bn commitment to development with the launch of the National Quantum Strategy (NQS). Aligned with the goals of the NQTP, the NQS sets out a ten-year vision, funding strategy, and actions to enable the UK to become a leading quantum-enabled economy.
Professor Tim Spiller is the Director of the Quantum Communications Hub (QCH), who oversees the strategic direction of this Hub and is responsible for the delivery of its technical programme of work within the wider framework of the National Quantum Technologies Programme. Editor Georgie Purcell spoke with Professor Spiller to learn more about the UK’s quantum work and what quantum innovation means for both the UK and the world.
What does the landscape look like for UK quantum technologies? Why is innovation in quantum technologies so important for the UK and the world?
For over a decade, it has been recognised worldwide that quantum technologies – such as computing, communications, imaging sensing and timing – can achieve things far beyond the capabilities of ordinary technologies. As a result of this understanding, various countries across the globe have been investing in quantum innovation for significant periods.
The UK was one of the first countries to put in place a major co-ordinated national programme – the NQTP – which is admired by many other countries.
In terms of the technology development landscape, there are several quantum technologies now emerging as commercially-viable products. The UK has been one of the world’s leading nations in fundamental quantum research for over 30 years, making us very well-positioned to also be a leader in commercialising innovations from quantum research into quantum technologies. It is important to invest continually into UK quantum technologies and, clearly, the UK Government appreciates that.
Are there any major barriers facing the acceleration of the UK quantum space? If so, how can these be overcome?
There are two notable barriers at present.
Firstly, there are some very nice demonstrations in principle of how to turn basic quantum science into an embryonic technology or a prototype. A lot of technical engineering is then needed to develop the prototype or defining experiment into a technology. We are currently at the stage where a few quantum technologies have narrowly progressed through that engineering barrier to reach commercialisation level. However, there are many other technologies that must still get over that, with computing being one of the biggest examples. In computing, there are very significant engineering problems still to be overcome in order to scale up to make the machines bigger and suitable for a wide range of applications.
The other barrier is market pull, which there isn’t enough of at present. To overcome this, you must have better offerings and solve more of the engineering problems to make tangible products. Only then will there be an increased market pull. Currently, the significant companies involved in UK quantum technologies are doing their best to generate further market pull. The Quantum Communications Hub started as part of the National Quantum Technologies Programme (NQTP) in 2014. At the Hub, we have carried out a significant amount of work showing that secure quantum communications can be put into ordinary fibre that is already in the ground in the UK. We carried out demonstrations of this and constructed the UK’s first quantum network. That subsequently fed into industry-led projects, notably by Toshiba and BT Group, funded by Innovate UK, where the networking technology was progressed another level. Now, BT and Toshiba have a small commercial trial quantum network set up in London and they are getting customers to investigate the potential of that. This demonstrates what the service and technology providers are doing to try to generate market pull.
I don’t think these problems are unique to the UK, but apply to all quantum technology activity worldwide. With any brand-new and different technology, there isn’t a pre-existing market automatically and significant work is required to enable it to grow.
Earlier this year, the UK launched the National Quantum Strategy. What are the key aims and objectives of this and why is it so needed?
It is worth noting that the National Quantum Strategy was released on the same day as the 2023 UK government Budget. Roughly speaking, the end of November next year will mark the completion of the first ten years of the NQTP. Over that ten-year period, the total investment in the UK national programme is calculated to be around £1bn, funded by a mixture of UK government money, industry-matched investment, and private and venture investment.
The Budget, presented by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, in March, announced a target of £2.5bn of investment in quantum technologies for the following ten years, starting at the end of next year. This is a significant ramp up and I do not believe he would have been prepared to commit to this without a coherent strategy. Although we have had various strategy documents over the last ten years, in order to justify a significant ask and increase investment into quantum tech, it was necessary to come up with a ten-year plan. The National Quantum Strategy achieves this by outlining a vision for what should happen in the next ten years.
In addition, decisions must be made on the important things that are needed to move forward with quantum technologies. The National Quantum Strategy highlighted four key requirements.
The first point is a need for investment in skills and training. Once the basic underpinning science has been carried out, it must then be turned into a technology, which requires sufficient skilled people. A lack of investment in skills could be considered a barrier in the UK currently. Although the UK is an appealing place to work, it’s not as attractive as it was before Brexit.
The next thing in the strategy is continuing support for business. Currently, UK quantum technologies have not moved far enough along that businesses are able to pick them up and use them. Further research and development is needed to push other technologies up the technology readiness level (TRL) stack. In which case, businesses will continue to invest in Innovate UK projects to help them get a prototype to a product that can be commercialised. I think there will be continuing growth to support business and commercialisation.
The next thing that was highlighted in the strategy is ‘driving the adoption of quantum technologies’. This refers to growing the markets. Clearly, government can’t entirely drive a market but, if they participate in procurement and use of these technologies themselves, this can support market acceleration.
The final point is regulation. Most people think of regulation as being hindering but, when done in the right way, regulation and standards can help to grow markets and drive innovation.
Can you explain more about what the Quantum Communications Hub is? How does it work to progress quantum technologies?
There’s a couple of important underpinning elements.
As previously mentioned, the key quantum technologies include communications, computing, imaging and sensing timing. The Quantum Communications Hub is obviously focused on secure communications, but there are also three other Hubs dedicated to computing, imaging, and sensing.
The QCH covers the communications space in terms of the technology sector. But, when it comes to TRLs, we focus on the lowest few.
When the national programme was first set up, the Hubs were framed as technology development hubs as opposed to research hubs. This is because the research would continue to be funded by the usual UKRI mechanisms. The Hubs are designed to focus on a particular vertical and utilise the research available to push the technology forward to at least a prototype level. However, it is crucial that we still retain a hold in the research area that is relevant to us, to enable us to pull stuff through.
The QCH works on the first few TRLs above zero. At this point, other groups within the national programme can take over. Innovate UK, for example, has worked for over ten years to invest in industry-led projects focused on the higher TRLs. They take a working prototype and turn it into something that a company could then commercialise. In the hub, we work on an idea and then look for somewhere to ‘tech transfer’ it. One route is to pass it on through our industry partners to an industry-led project funded by Innovate UK. We can also spinout a project.
What are the standout projects of the Quantum Communications Hub?
As previously mentioned, one key initiative is optical fibre-based quantum networking – terrestrial, in-the-ground fibre. We built the UK’s first national quantum network and we have now ‘tech transferred’ it. Aspects of the network were initially picked up by both Toshiba and BT, who turned it into industry-led-projects funded by Innovate UK to develop these quantum technologies further. Those companies have now carried out significant exhibits of how the technology can work and have set up a trial commercial network in London. This is an example of where the work has moved through almost all the technology readiness levels to a near-commercial service.
Another very important aspect, in particular with our communications technologies, is developing technologies with a very low size, weight, and power. These innovations must be small enough to be used in a small handheld device, as well as consuming limited power and being lightweight. Within communications, we have seen a drive to put stuff on-chip. Electronics have been on-chip for around 50 years and the chips have gradually got better and better. Optical stuff is more in its infancy in terms of being put onto chips. Within the Hub, we have focused on enabling some of the technologies to be transferred onto a chip. Notably, a spin out of the hub is a company called KETS from the University
of Bristol.
Another important element of our work is monitoring standards, assurance, and measurement within the quantum space. We work closely with the UK’s National Physical Laboratory (NPL) on this and they have been a partner with the Hub since day one.
In an exciting development, the QCH is focusing on space technologies to help deliver future international and worldwide secure communications. The Hub is delivering its own research mission, SPOQC (Satellite Platform for Optical Quantum Communications), funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) under the auspices of the UK National Quantum Technologies Programme. SPOQC is the Quantum Communications Hub’s 12u CubeSat, which will be launched in 2024 to demonstrate in-orbit quantum key distribution from space to the Hub Optical Ground Station (HOGS), established at the Errol Airfield site in Scotland. Successful operation of SPOQC will enable us to establish the crucial next R&D steps, towards future commercial quantum secure services in space.
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