Key Features
UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £9.5 million for Quantum Computing (QC) and Quantum Networks (QN) projects. This funding is from Innovate UK.
Programme: Innovate UK
Award: Share of up to £9.5 million
Opens: 4th Nov 2024
Closes: 11th Dec 2024
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will invest up to £9.5 million for Quantum Computing (QC) and Quantum Networks (QN) projects.
These will be to support the five Quantum Missions that were established to deliver the UK National Quantum Strategy.
The aim of this competition is to accelerate Quantum Computing (QC) and Quantum Networks (QN) technologies by increasing their capabilities and removing technological barriers to their commercialisation and adoption.
Your project must identify one or more key technological barriers or limitations and propose an innovative project that will address them.
Your proposal must focus on one or more of the two technological themes:
For Quantum Computing projects you must:
or
You must also:
For Quantum Network projects you must:
Your application must outline a plan to further develop and exploit the solution within the UK. Your project must exploit the capabilities of second generation quantum technologies. These are defined as those involving the generation and coherent control of quantum states, resulting in phenomena such as superposition or entanglement.
In your QC project, the term “testbed” corresponds to stable and well characterised prototype, or development platform solutions for a physical quantum computer. It must be capable of running quantum algorithms or analogue quantum processes, which must be tested and validated at system level by the end of the project.
In your QN project, we consider technologies involving single photon generation and detection to be in scope.
Innovate UK encourage projects for networking of quantum computers to advance information processing.
Portfolio approach
Innvoate UK want to fund a variety of projects across different technologies, markets and computing or networks themes. We call this a portfolio approach.
Your project must focus on one or more of the following:
Your project must:
Projects must always start on the first of the month, even if this is a non-working day. You must not start your project until your Grant Offer Letter has been approved by Innovate UK. Any delays within Project Setup may mean we need to delay your project start date.
You must only include eligible project costs in your application. See our overview of eligible project costs. For specific guidance, see the eligibility section in this competition.
If your project’s total grant funding request falls outside of our eligibility criteria, you must provide justification by email to support@iuk.ukri.org at least 10 working days before the competition closes. We will decide whether to approve your request.
If you have not requested approval or your application has not been approved by us, you will be made ineligible. Your application will then not be sent for assessment.
Lead organisation
To lead a project your organisation must:
More information on the different types of organisation can be found in our Funding rules.
Academic institutions cannot lead or work alone.
Project team
To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:
Each partner organisation must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service (IFS) by the lead to collaborate on a project. Once partners have accepted the invitation, they will be asked to login or to create an account in IFS. They are responsible for entering their own project costs and completing their Project Impact questions in the application.
To be an eligible collaboration, the lead and at least one other organisation must apply for funding when entering their costs into the application.
Non-funded partners
Your project can include non-UK partners, including partners based in the EU, who bring their own funding. Their costs will count towards the total eligible project costs.
Subcontractors
Subcontractors are allowed in this competition.
Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process.
You can use subcontractors from overseas but must make the case in your application as to why you cannot use suppliers from the UK.
You must provide a detailed rationale, evidence of the potential UK contractors you approached and the reasons why they were unable to work with you. We will not accept a cheaper cost as a sufficient reason to use an overseas subcontractor.
All subcontractor costs must be justified and appropriate to the total eligible project costs.
Number of applications
A business can only lead on one application but can be included as a collaborator in two further applications.
If an organisation is not leading an application, it can collaborate in any number of applications.
Sanctions
This competition will not fund you, or provide any financial benefit to any individual or entities directly or indirectly involved with you, which would expose Innovate UK or any direct or indirect beneficiary of funding from Innovate UK to UK Sanctions. For example, through any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any entity as lead, partner or subcontractor related to these countries, administrations and terrorist groups.
Use of animals in research and innovation
Innovate UK expects and supports the provision and safeguarding of welfare standards for animals used in research and innovation, according to best practice and up to date guidance.
Applicants must ensure that all of the proposed work within projects, both that in the UK and internationally, will comply with the UKRI guidance on the use of animals in research and innovation.
Any projects selected for funding which involve animals will be asked to provide additional information on welfare and ethical considerations, as well as compliance with any relevant legislation as part of the project start-up process. This information will be reviewed before an award is made.
You can use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition.
Innovate UK are not funding projects that:
Innovate UK cannot fund projects that are:
Up to £9.5 million has been allocated to fund innovation projects in this competition. Funding will be in the form of a grant.
If your organisation’s work on the project is commercial or economic, your funding request must not exceed the limits below. These limits apply even if your organisation normally acts non-economically but for the purpose of this project will be undertaking commercial or economic activity.
For Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Subsidy Scheme Category 2 Industrial Research projects, you can get funding for your eligible project costs of:
Research participation
The research organisations undertaking non-economic activity as part of the project can share up to 30% of the total eligible project costs. If your consortium contains more than one research organisation undertaking non-economic activity, this maximum is shared between them. Of that 30% you can get funding for your eligible project costs of up to:
Book an appointment to speak to one of our advisors to discuss your eligibility to apply for this Grant Funding opportunity.
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