Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will invest up to £13 million from UKRI in this competition, subject to a sufficient number of high quality applications being received.
The aim of this competition is to develop and implement high impact quantum software applications to realise the commercial value and broader social value of near term quantum computers.
Projects must focus on real world problems of industrial, economic, public sector or societal relevance, where quantum computing can offer practical advantages over classical approaches.
We particularly encourage applications in sectors where quantum computing could be a significant disruptor, and projects that align with national priorities such as energy systems, infrastructure, transport, financial services, healthcare, climate resilience, security and productivity. Your project must focus on one or more of the following:
- healthcare and drug discovery
- finance
- optimisation for transport and infrastructure
- design and simulation of new materials
- quantum machine learning
Projects must be collaborative, and led by a UK registered business.
Your project must deliver validated applications and evidence of performance on near term quantum systems, and a clear route to exploitation and adoption in the UK.
Your proposal must:
- have total grant request between £300,000 and £4 million
- last between 24 and 36 months
- carry out the majority of its project work in the UK
- intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
Our experience from similar competitions suggests that you could have a 30% chance of success.
Who can apply?
To lead a collaborative project your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size.
To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:
An eligible organisation can only lead on one application. Any further applications by the same organisation as lead will be made ineligible.
An eligible organisation that is leading an application can be included as a collaborator in a further two applications and if not leading, can collaborate in any number of applications.
- business of any size
- academic institution
- charity
- not for profit
- public sector organisation
- research and technology organisation (RTO)
Eligible projects
Your project must:
Any organisation receiving funding must carry out its project work in the UK, intend to exploit the results in the UK, and spend most of the funding within the UK.
You must ensure that no one grant claiming organisation accounts for more than 70% of the total eligible costs.
- have a grant funding request of between £300,000 and £4 million
- last between 24 and 36 months
- start by 1 January 2027
- end by 31 December 2029
Scope
The aim of this competition is to develop and implement high impact quantum software applications to realise the commercial value and broader social value of near term quantum computers.
Your project must:
We particularly encourage projects that align with national priorities such as energy systems, infrastructure, transport, financial services, healthcare, climate resilience, security and productivity.
- identify a clearly defined industrial or public sector problem where quantum computing will have a major impact
- develop and implement quantum computing software to address said problem
- present a solution that is based on knowledge of the full stack of the quantum computing system
- demonstrate execution, benchmarking and validation on near term quantum computing systems, including cloud based platforms, or simulate such execution
- aim to show that quantum approaches offer potential advantages over classical methods, now or in the near term
- detail end user, industrial or public sector engagement to define requirements and assess utility, commercial value, and broader impact
- present a credible plan for adoption, exploitation and future scaling in the UK in the context of the organisation’s technology or strategy roadmap
Specific themes and exclusions
Your project must focus on one or more of the following:
We are not funding projects that:
- healthcare and drug discovery
- finance
- optimisation for transport and infrastructure
- design and simulation of new materials
- quantum machine learning
- do not focus on solving a particular problem
- do not deliver quantum software as their main output
- do not intend to assess the commercial value and broader impact of the developed solution
- develop exclusive classical software, including quantum inspired algorithms
- would directly duplicate scope and costs from other UK Government or international initiatives that have been or are currently funded
- do not include delivery of significant and critical activities in the UK
Briefing and support
Briefing slides will be available to download from Supporting Information after the event.
If you would like help to find a collaboration partner, contact Innovate UK Business Connect’s Quantum team.
