The UK is to invest more than £500mn in emerging technology based on quantum physics that experts say has the potential to transform economic and national security.
The government’s support will be welcomed following questions about what would replace an ambitious Conservative pledge in 2023 to invest £2.5bn over 10 years and project Britain as a world leader in quantum technology.
The quantum industry’s backers say it will potentially transform areas ranging from the discovery of advanced industrial materials to the imaging of the human body. Quantum computers offer a route to improved communications security and one day may be able to break traditional encryption methods.
“Making sovereign quantum computing capacity is important for both national security and economic resilience,” said Gerald Mullally, interim chief executive of Oxford Quantum Circuits, a quantum computing company.
The government’s four-year investment in quantum computing is due to be announced on Monday as part of the broader industrial strategy, according to people familiar with the matter. That announcement is likely to be followed by news of further money for quantum technologies, adding to initiatives such as the £100mn announced last year for five new research hubs. The backing dovetails with the launch last year of a National Quantum Computing Centre to host machines “designed to push the boundaries of what is possible with the technology”.
