UK Announces New Funding to Support Quantum Technology Commercialisation

Insider Brief

• The UK government and UKRI have announced new funding and initiatives to accelerate quantum technology commercialisation, adoption and workforce development.
• The announcements include £138 million for quantum sensing procurement, £12 million for a national quantum commercialisation skills centre and £35 million for quantum networking testbeds.
• A UKRI impact report found that £300 million in public investment between 2014 and 2024 helped create more than 2,000 skilled jobs, support 74 spinout companies and attract £482 million in private investment.

PRESS RELEASE — New steps to help accelerate the adoption, commercialisation, and talent pipeline for UK Quantum will kickstart a major event demonstrating Britain’s global leadership in the technology being held in London today (Friday 6^th November).

Run by Innovate UK, part of UKRI, the UK’s National Quantum Technologies Showcase is set to be the one of biggest global quantum conferences to date with over 3,500 attendees.

Founders, investors, customers, researchers and industry leaders from around the world head to the capital to demonstrate the latest Quantum technologies, build new partnerships, and unlock new commercial opportunities.

Visitors to the Showcase will see how UK quantum firms are already solving real-world challenges, from healthcare to infrastructure to national security. Among the projects is a chip smaller than a £1 coin that could bring eye scans from hospitals into homes and local clinics to speed up treatment, sensors that can detect hidden underground hazards without the disruption and cost of digging, and British-built atomic clocks that strengthen resilience against satellite signal disruption, supporting the armed forces.

It comes after the Chancellor unveiled £138 million of funding for cross-government quantum sensing procurement in last week’s Budget, helping accelerate adoption across healthcare, transport and defence while strengthening UK sovereign capability. This includes a £30 million commitment from the Ministry of Defence, the department’s single largest investment in Quantum technology.

It also follows on from the £2 billion package unveiled to propel UK quantum in the Spring, which is now being distributed to take the UK’s quantum ambitions to the next level.

Science, Innovation and Investment Minister Chris McDonald said:

“The race to lead the quantum age is on, and Britain is starting from a position of strength. This year’s UK Quantum Showcase is an exciting opportunity to show what happens when world-class research meets entrepreneurial ambition.

“We’re backing that success further by helping more quantum businesses to scale up, secure investment and turn pioneering ideas into jobs and growth, while offering more people the opportunity to skill up in a technology that could shape the future economy.”

The Ministry of Defence is also confirming today the development of a Defence Quantum Action Plan, which will explore the UK’s approach to quantum technologies and how they can be developed and used to safeguard our national security. Further details are due to be set out in the New Year.

Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Minister Luke Pollard said:

“The UK has world-leading strengths in quantum. Our collective challenge now is to turn that strength into practical advantage.

“If we get this right, we can strengthen our Armed Forces, support British innovation and growth, and turn the UK’s quantum strengths into lasting strategic edge.”

To close the gap between the UK’s research strength and its commercial success, UKRI’s Engineering, Physical Sciences and Research Council (EPSRC) has selected the UK Quantum Super Connector – a partnership led by Imperial College London with Bristol, Cambridge, Glasgow and Oxford – to establish a national Quantum Commercialisation Skills Centre, through £12m of funding.

The initiative will strengthen entrepreneurship, and the ability to bring cutting-edge Quantum tech to market, tackling one of the major barriers to companies starting and scaling on British shores.

Meanwhile £35 million from Innovate UK will support two new funding calls for quantum networking testbeds launching in February 2027 that will enable UK companies and researchers to develop and test technologies.

Quantum sensors are already helping improve lives for people across the country, including in wearable tech and brain scanners which support people living with conditions like epilepsy. The testbeds will address barriers to using Quantum tech in telecoms, supporting quantum computing scale-up and more secure communications.

Alongside today’s event, a Quantum Hubs and Skills Impact Report has found that from 2014 to 2024, £300 million of public investment in research and skills programmes has helped create more than 2,000 highly skilled jobs and supported 74 new spinout companies. The Hubs have also drawn in an estimated £482 million of private investment, helping the UK to build on its position as a leader in the technology.

Professor Charlotte Deane, UKRI Senior Responsible Owner for Quantum said:

“Quantum is not just a tomorrow technology – it is a today technology. Though you may not know it, quantum is improving your life now. If you travel on tube today, quantum sensors are supporting your journey.

“Health wise, if you have a scan of your brain, breast or eye – quantum is there for you too. UKRI has been supporting quantum technologies for a decade and now it is really delivering real world results.”