QEPNT wins £1.2M funding boost as part of UK’s ‘Quantum Leap’ for Quantum Tech

The UK Hub for Quantum Enabled Position, Navigation & Timing (QEPNT), led by the University of Glasgow, will receive £1.2m from the UKRI’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to accelerate the translation of the Hub’s technology into UK capability through industry partnerships, entrepreneurial activity and developing UK supply chains.

The funding was announced as part of an extra £13.8 million injected into the UK’s 5 National Quantum Research Hubs delivered by UK Research and Innovation, to fast track the adoption of technology in healthcare, clean energy and national security to support the delivery of the Quantum Strategy Missions.

A pioneering programme worth up to £2 billion of government investment announced by the Technology Secretary, Liz Kendall and the Chancellor today (Tuesday 17th March), will ensure the UK stays at the forefront of Quantum innovation.

The funding will progress the Hub’s mission to support the UK’s commitment to develop quantum navigation systems to provide next-generation accuracy for resilience, independent of satellite systems.

Professor David Cumming, Director of QEPNT said, “As leaders of research in developing quantum navigation systems and resilient quantum timing technologies, the QEPNT Hub is delighted to receive funding to progress the translation of our technology to benefit the UK economy and infrastructure.

“Quantum timing technologies are being developed by the Hub to create alternatives to Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), which are vulnerable to jamming and spoofing. These technologies offer superior stability and precision, essential for securing resilient critical national infrastructure such as electricity grids, financial transactions, telecommunications, and transport networks.”

The Hub, funded as part of the UK National Quantum Technology Programme, is led by world-leading researchers from the Universities of Glasgow, Bristol, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt, Imperial College London, Loughborough, Strathclyde, Queen’s University Belfast and the National Physical Laboratory.