Insider Brief
- Aquark Technologies has secured a £1.4 million Innovate UK contract to deploy its compact, cold atom-based atomic clock, AQlock, at a major UK telecommunications site by March 2026.
- The project aims to demonstrate AQlock’s commercial readiness as a GNSS-independent timing solution to enhance national network performance and protect critical infrastructure.
- The initiative supports the UK’s National Quantum Strategy by advancing satellite-independent quantum timing systems that reduce economic risks from GNSS disruptions.
PRESS RELEASE — Aquark Technologies, experts in miniaturising deployable sensing and timing technologies based on cold atoms, today announced it has been awarded a £1,409,702 contract by Innovate UK. The contract will facilitate the future deployment of Aquark’s cold atom-based atomic clock, AQlock, at a major telecommunications site in the UK.
AQlock is a resilient, compact and cost-effective quantum timing solution that enables distributed, GNSS-independent positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT). As the project’s lead contractor, Innovate UK is supporting Aquark to demonstrate the product’s commercial readiness and showcase its capability to enhance the UK’s national critical infrastructure, including national network performance.
Innovate UK selected Aquark following its application for the competitive Contract for Innovation: Quantum Sensors and PNT Missions Primer. The collaboration follows several successful trials by Aquark with the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and the Royal Navy, as well as previous contracts with Innovate UK and a recent £1.9M Future Leaders’ Fellowship. NPL and Purbrook are subcontractors on the project, which will run until the end of March 2026, when the system is deployed at a telecommunications site in the UK.
Critical infrastructure, including navigation systems, data networks, communications, and power distribution centres, requires precise timing and sensor systems that are compact, transportable, and robust. The systems currently available to meet these demands are costly, hard to integrate, and rely too heavily on many complex components and fragile supply chains. Aquark’s latest contract with Innovate UK is therefore a vital step towards preventing the estimated £1 billion daily economic losses associated with GNSS outages and contributes to the UK’s National Quantum Strategy goal to build quantum-powered infrastructure independent of satellite signals.
“It is vital that we protect our telecoms – not just for the benefit of daily civilian life, but also for our national security and economy. It’s therefore an honour to work alongside Innovate UK to bring this project to life,” said Alexander Jantzen, COO and Co-Founder of Aquark Technologies. “With AQlock 2, we will reduce the UK’s reliance on satellite signals that are vulnerable to jamming, spoofing, solar storms and more. This will help protect millions from the power outages, emergency services and supply chain disruption our networks are at risk of today, as well as address the huge economic losses that can occur as a result.”
AQlock 2 leverages vacuum technology, microfabrication, and a unique, patented method for trapping and cooling atoms to design smaller, scalable quantum systems. This project will deliver more robust telecommunications networks for millions across the UK, strengthening national infrastructure and solidifying the UK’s position as a leader in scalable quantum sensing solutions.
