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Opens April 18th. Busness-led. 3 million min price.

Innovate UK invites applications for its commercialising quantum devices – innovation R&D call. This aims to advance the commercialisation of quantum technologies in the UK. Projects must demonstrate how the device can be brought to market, with manufacture or assembly in the UK, and fulfil an end user need through the technological advances in quantum technology. This competition aims to deliver working prototype ‘second generation’ quantum devices or systems that fulfil the technical and ergonomic requirements of end users. ‘Second generation’ means they use the generation or coherent control and manipulation of quantum states, resulting in superposition and entanglement. This allows them to do things that would be impossible with ‘non-quantum’ means. This definition also includes single photon generation or detection devices. Projects must address one or more of the following technology challenges:

•situational awareness – situational awareness during transportation in highly hazardous conditions such as darkness, fog or dust, to enhance safety;

•infrastructure productivity – increased productivity in the deployment, improvement or maintenance of the built environment and critical national infrastructure;

•seeing the invisible – identification and understanding of features and states in critical areas which are impossible to access by conventional means;

•trusted peer-to-peer communication: complete and long term trust in the secure peer-to-peer transfer of data and information, for example across smart cities and environments.

Projects must be led by a UK based business, include an SME, academic organisation, charity, public sector or research and technology organisation, and be carried out in the UK. A business may lead on only one application and partner in any number of applications. An academic institution or RTO cannot lead on an application but can be a collaborator in any number of applications.

The total budget is £20 million. Grants are worth between £3m and 10m each. Projects should start by 1 November 2018 and last up to 29 months. Small and micro businesses may receive up to 70 per cent of their project costs, medium-sized businesses may receive 60 per cent and large businesses may receive 50 per cent for feasibility studies and industrial research projects. Small and micro businesses may receive up to 45 per cent of their project costs, medium-sized businesses may receive 35 per cent and large businesses may receive 25 per cent for experimental development projects which are nearer to market.