13 October 2026. British businesses developing quantum technologies are being backed with a share of £50 million through UK Research and Innovation's Sensing and Positioning, Navigation and Timing competition.
Winning projects include a quantum monitoring system led by West Midlands-based MoniRail, which could pinpoint faults in railway tracks and signalling equipment where GPS is unable to reach. Bristol-based Siloton is developing a handheld quantum eye scanner designed to make advanced eye diagnostics available outside specialist hospitals. Oxfordshire-based ColdQuanta UK is being backed to develop a compact, mobile quantum radio system that can locate signals with high accuracy.
The funding forms part of the government's wider goal to make the UK a world leader in quantum sensing by 2030, backed by up to £2 billion investment earlier this year.
Science, Innovation and Investment Minister Chris McDonald said: "Quantum has long been an exciting technology, but now real world applications are within our grasp. UK innovators are showing us what these breakthroughs could mean for our lives in the near future, from cutting down on train delays, to earlier appointments at in-demand areas of the NHS, to keeping our armed forces safe and connected as they protect our country. We're backing teams across the UK to turn bright ideas into products that make a real difference, growing the economy, creating new jobs, and ensuring we can be leaders in Quantum technology for decades to come."
UKRI is also investing £20 million in UK-based businesses through its Enabling Commercial Quantum Networking competition, and an £8 million expansion of its QuEST Apprentices Programme aims to equip 150 apprentices studying engineering subjects by 2030.
Source: The Quantum Insider
Dirac Labs, a Madison-based quantum-enabled navigation company, has joined the Wisconsin Security Research Consortium as an industry affiliate, providing resilient navigation alternatives to enable autonomous maritime missions.
Quantum effects already underpin everyday devices such as transistors, lasers and MRI scanners, yet their full potential remains untapped. Researchers are engineering two-dimensional materials and quantum spin liquids to serve as building blocks for topological quantum computing and more stable qubits, combining theoretical modelling with material fabrication. Other efforts use quantum sensors to probe dark matter and read superconducting qubit data without disturbing it.
IonQ and the University of Cambridge have opened the first-ever university-based IonQ Quantum Innovation Centre at the Ray Dolby Centre, home of the Cavendish Laboratory. The Centre includes nine inaugural research projects.
