The University of Strathclyde is a partner in four out of five new UK-wide hubs established to ensure that the UK fully benefits from the potential of quantum technologies.

The Quantum Technology Hubs cover areas ranging from healthcare and computing to national security and critical infrastructure.

Industry collaboration is a key element in all of the Hubs, which leverage significant cash and in-kind contributions from partners worth more than £54 million.

Quantum technologies harness quantum physics to gain a functionality or performance which is otherwise unattainable, deriving from science which cannot be explained by classical physics such as Newton’s laws of motion or thermodynamics.

Professor Paul Griffin, of Strathclyde’s Department of Physics, will be working in two of the Hubs. He said:

“Quantum is playing an increasingly important role in a wide range of areas, including healthcare, security, computing and transport, and is expanding the capabilities of technology. It is still in its relative infancy but these new Hubs will help to harness its vast potential, to the benefit of academia, industry and wider society, as well as nurturing the sector’s future leaders.

Strathclyde has a wealth of expertise in quantum and its many applications and this is reflected in the University’s prominence in the Hubs. 

Professor Jennifer Hastie, Director of Strathclyde’s Institute of Photonics, is Deputy Principal Investigator in QEPNT (UK Hub for Quantum Enabled Position, Navigation and Timing). Led by the University of Glasgow, this Hub aims to deliver quantum technologies which will be key for resilient positioning, navigation and timing systems for use in national security and critical national infrastructure. This includes improving positioning systems on aircraft to negate any GPS jamming and in submarines to allow them to operate for months without surfacing to reconnect with satellites.

Strathclyde is also a partner in:

  • QuSIT (UK Quantum Technology Hub in Sensing, Imaging and Timing). Led at the University of Birmingham, it aims to overcome barriers to quantum sensing, imaging and timing, with applications in health such as quantum brain scanners to investigate dementia, and cameras to detect gas leaks and hidden objects
  • IQN (Integrated Quantum Networks Quantum Technology Research Hub). Led at Heriot-Watt University, it will undertake underpinning research towards the goal of creating a ‘quantum internet’ formed of globally-interlinked quantum networks connecting multiple quantum computers. This will be able to produce enormous computational power and which will ensure secure access to future quantum computing services, and future-proofed secure communications
  • QCI3: Hub for Quantum Computing via Integrated and Interconnected Implementations. Led by the University of Oxford, it aims to develop the technologies needed for the UK to play a key role in the development of quantum computers, a market estimated to be worth $1.3 trillion by 2030.

Professor Griffin is a partner in QEPNT and QuSIT. He and Professor Hastie are joined in the hubs by Strathclyde colleagues Professor Erling Riis, Dr Stuart Ingleby (both QEPNT and QuSIT), Dr James Mcgilligan (QEPNT), Dr Daniel Oi (IQN), Professor Viv Kendon, Dr Jonathan Pritchard and Professor Stefan Kuhr (all QCI3).

Improving lives

UK Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said:

“We want to see a future where cutting-edge science improves everyday lives. That is the vision behind our investment in these new quantum technology hubs, by supporting the deployment of technology that will mean faster diagnoses for diseases, critical infrastructure safe from hostile threats and cleaner energy for us all.

“These hubs will bridge the gap between brilliant ideas and practical solutions. They will not only transform sectors like healthcare and security, but also create a culture of accelerated innovation that helps to grow our economy.”

The Hubs are delivered by the UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), with a £106 million investment from EPSRC, the UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Research Council (BBSRC), UKRI Medical Research Council (MRC), and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The BBSRC, MRC and NIHR investment supports the Q-BIOMED hub.

EPSRC Executive Chair Professor Charlotte Deane said: “Technologies harnessing quantum properties will provide unparalleled power and capacity for analysis at a molecular level, with truly revolutionary possibilities across everything from healthcare to infrastructure and computing.”