UK National Quantum Computing Centre Secures £30m for Prototypes

Quantum Motion, a company founded by Professor John Morton of University College London and Professor Simon Benjamin of the University of Oxford, is set to build a quantum processor test bed for the UK's National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire. The prototype system will be based on the same silicon MOS platform used in the consumer electronics industry today, and it forms part of NQCC's vision to harness the potential of quantum computing to solve complex problems.

The project includes a cryogenic CMOS IC-based prototype, cryo-electronics, and machine learning control to fine-tune the quantum devices. This initiative is not the only one taking place at NQCC, as the organization, in collaboration with the Department for Science and Innovation, has announced a £30m investment to develop prototypes by March 2025.

"There is a growing realization across the industry that quantum developers need access to the hardware to engineer scalable solutions for a full-stack quantum computer," said NQCC director Michael Cuthbert. "Once built, these system-level prototypes will help us understand the unique characteristics of different hardware approaches, establish appropriate metrics for each qubit architecture, and explore the types of applications that benefit most from each technological approach."

The results obtained from these prototypes will be shared with UK academia, industry, and government to develop use-cases for early-stage quantum computers and identify any gaps that need to be addressed before widespread adoption.

Quantum Motion, with its team of 50 staff, claims to have qubits with dimensions below 100nm and expertise in fault-tolerant computer architectures, error mitigation, and machine learning algorithms. Their involvement in this project will contribute to the advancement of quantum computing in the UK.