Toshiba Secures UK Contract to Develop Quantum Networking Technologies

Insider Brief

• Toshiba Europe has secured an Innovate UK contract to develop technologies that support the expansion of commercial quantum networks across the UK.
• The project will develop prototype subsystems for long-distance quantum links and multi-user networks, with BT and Colt Technology Services helping validate the technology under real-world conditions.
• The initiative aims to improve network resource utilisation, reduce deployment costs and support the UK’s ambition to deploy advanced quantum networks at scale by 2035.

PRESS RELEASE — Toshiba Europe has been awarded a contract by Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), to develop technologies that can help unlock the commercial potential of quantum networks. The project will develop technology for long-distance quantum links and networks serving multiple users and validate it under realistic operating conditions.

The contract was awarded through Innovate UK’s Enabling Commercial Quantum Networking competition, which aims to support UK businesses developing components and sub-systems for quantum networks, strengthening the UK’s position as an integral part of the quantum technology supply chain. The competition represents a combined £20 million investment in the UK’s quantum ecosystem.

The project supports the ambitions of the UK’s National Quantum Strategy, including its mission to deploy advanced quantum networks at scale by 2035 and lay the foundations for a future quantum internet. Such infrastructure could ultimately enable quantum information to be shared between quantum computers and other quantum systems in different locations.

Toshiba’s project will develop and evaluate prototype subsystems designed to make quantum networks easier and more cost-effective to expand and operate over the UK’s existing fibre infrastructure. It will investigate ways to use network resources more efficiently and manage connectivity as the number of users and sites increases, with the aim of improving asset utilisation and reducing capital expenditure. The technology will be validated in collaboration with UK network operators BT and Colt Technology Services to ensure that the solutions address real-world industry requirements.

One of the UK’s longer-term ambitions for a quantum-enabled economy is to connect quantum processors located in different data centres, allowing them to work together on computational tasks. In the future, this approach could increase available quantum computing capability and contribute to breakthroughs in areas such as the discovery of new medicines and materials.

Andrew Shields, Vice President of Toshiba Europe and Head of its Quantum Technology Division, said: “Building quantum networks at scale requires cost-effective subsystems that can be readily integrated into today’s data communications infrastructure. By working with UK network operators BT and Colt Technology Services, we will develop and validate the technology needed to connect cities and broaden access to quantum networking for more users and customers, helping to realise the UK’s ambition for the world’s most advanced quantum network at scale by 2035.”

The work builds on Toshiba’s more than 25 years of dedicated quantum research and development.  The company recently launched its Quantum-Safe Networking (QSN) Platform that helps organisations integrate quantum-safe protection across existing networks with reduced complexity, footprint and cost.