Insider Brief
- Pennsylvania lawmakers are being asked to back a proposed $40 million-plus, two-year Pennsylvania Quantum Initiative starting in 2026 to rebuild competitiveness after the state missed major federal quantum funding rounds and fell behind peer states.
- The proposal calls for state-coordinated investment in workforce development, applied research, shared-access infrastructure and early commercialization, overseen by a governor- and legislature-appointed advisory board and a separate quantum ethics and governance commission.
- Framed as a bridge to future federal funding cycles after 2030, the plan emphasizes near-term opportunities such as DARPA benchmarking partnerships, technician-level workforce training, and sector-specific applications in energy, life sciences, manufacturing and secure communications.
- Photo by Katherine McAdoo on Unsplash
Pennsylvania lawmakers are being urged to consider a $40 million-plus, two-year quantum technology initiative aimed at restoring the state’s competitiveness after missing out on major federal funding rounds and watching rival states move more quickly into the emerging field.
The proposal, circulated this month on social media by the Pennsylvania Quantum Public Lobby Group, calls for the launch of a broad-based Pennsylvania Quantum Initiative beginning in 2026. According to the group, the plan is designed to strengthen workforce development, applied research and early commercialization while positioning the state to compete for larger federal quantum awards expected later in the decade.
“It may sound unusual to say but quantum is here, we have to utilize it or we’ll become a ghost town,” said Erin Richard, a spokesperson for the project.
Quantum technologies — including computing, sensing and secure communications — are widely viewed as enabling tools for advances in energy systems, life sciences, manufacturing and national security. The group argues that progress in these areas is not inevitable and that, without coordinated state action, Pennsylvania risks falling behind both regionally and nationally.
At the center of the proposal is the creation of a Pennsylvania Quantum Initiative Advisory Board. The draft plan indicates the board would be jointly appointed by the governor’s office and the legislature and would be tasked with drafting annual or biannual strategic plans subject to legislative approval. The group says industry representation would be required, including members with expertise in life sciences, energy and manufacturing.
The draft proposal also calls for establishing a separate Quantum Ethics and Governance Commission. According to the group, the commission would review the ethical, legal and social implications of quantum technologies before their deployment in government or state-regulated sectors, with particular attention to data privacy, explainability and workforce impacts.
Paul Stimers, executive director of the Quantum Industry Coalition, has added his support to the project, according to Richard.
Timing is a central theme in the document. The group notes that Pennsylvania failed to qualify for several of the largest federal quantum funding programs tied to the original National Quantum Initiative, whose major funding windows closed in 2025. As a result, the state is effectively excluded from Department of Energy and National Science Foundation quantum center funding until at least 2030.
Rather than attempting to replace federal investment, the draft proposal frames the state initiative as a bridge strategy. The group argues that targeted state funding between 2026 and 2028 would allow Pennsylvania to build workforce capacity, infrastructure and institutional readiness ahead of the next expected cycle of national quantum funding.
One near-term opportunity highlighted in the draft involves DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative. According to the proposal, states can provide matching funds that DARPA uses to cover laboratory costs associated with testing quantum computers. The group estimates that a relatively modest state investment could support dozens of startup testing campaigns while giving Pennsylvania students and researchers hands-on access to advanced quantum systems without the cost of building or purchasing them.
Workforce development is placed as a cornerstone of the initiative, but with an emphasis that extends beyond doctoral training. The draft proposal calls for preparing technicians and technologists capable of building, operating and maintaining quantum systems, including the possible creation of a Quantum Technology Center at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology. The group argues that quantum programming and applied use should be made more accessible across technical schools, community colleges and universities.
The proposal also emphasizes shared-access infrastructure, modeled on early classical computing time-sharing systems. According to the group, broad access to quantum resources would expand participation, accelerate practical experimentation and help ensure that discoveries and startups remain anchored in Pennsylvania.
Economic development goals are framed in sector-specific terms. The draft outlines potential applications in energy grid optimization, pipeline monitoring, materials discovery, life sciences, agriculture, logistics and climate modeling. It also highlights post-quantum encryption and quantum key distribution as near-term infrastructure priorities, citing growing concern over the risk that encrypted data collected today could be decrypted in the future.
To support these goals, the proposal sketches a funding framework that includes verification funds tied to federal benchmarking programs, strategic capital for quantum supply-chain components, adoption funds to encourage in-state use of quantum and post-quantum technologies, deployment grants for Pennsylvania-based companies, cloud compute credits for researchers and a dedicated workforce development fund. Much of the funding, the group says, would be administered through existing economic development organizations such as Ben Franklin Technology Partners.
The draft also places Pennsylvania’s effort in a broader competitive context, noting that neighboring states, including New York and Maryland, are moving aggressively to build quantum ecosystems. The group argues that quantum capabilities could shape economic and security outcomes as profoundly as artificial intelligence has in recent years.
If enacted, the initiative would begin in 2026 with advisory board appointments and initial funding, followed by site selection for facilities in 2027 and construction later in the decade. According to the group, the alternative is a future in which Pennsylvania adopts quantum technologies developed elsewhere rather than helping to build them at home.
Members plan to speak to committees and caucuses in Harrisburg throughout the year to build support for the initiative.
