A Brighton based computer company has won a £7.5 million grant to continue funding their work into building quantum technology.
Universal Quantum has been attempting to build the world’s first million qubit quantum computer through the use of similar funding provisions, and this will now allow them to continue funding their work.
The funding, provided by Innovate UK’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, will allow them to create a quantum computer that will potentially correct its own errors, which is considered to be the most important challenge that creators face in their battle to build forms of quantum technology that are commercially viable and therefore sellable to the mass market.
In order to achieve this, Universal Quantum are leading a group that includes companies such as Rolls Royce, research officials from major universities such as the University of Sussex and Imperial College London, and quantum development companies that will provide insight and further progress on the project.
Qubits are considered to be quantum bits that are error prone, making this a crucial challenge that needs addressing in order to progress the development of the project.
The team will look to address this by addressing the key issues as the software, hardware, and user levels in order to ensure its efficiency and that it all works correctly.
Further support will be provided through bringing together quantum hardware and software experts with world class staff to create a new quantum ecosystem and continue to grow the quantum tech cluster which exists in the Greater Brighton City Region.
It is hoped that continuous development will lead to this work in error correction allowing the technology to be able to become scalable and solve some of the most urgent computing challenges faced.
One key usage of this technology is believed to be in the aerospace sector, where the integrated approach and use of the power possessed in the machinery will allow a whole new age of computer driven aerospace engineering to exist.
Photo Credit: Kevin Ku
