UK–Netherlands Quantum Innovation Pilot Winners Announced

Three UK–Netherlands teams have been awarded funding through the UK–Netherlands Co Innovation and Testbeds Pilot for Quantum Tech, supporting new projects that show how emerging quantum technologies could deliver practical benefits for industry and society. 

Launched in September 2025, the pilot was created to strengthen collaboration between the UK and the Netherlands by backing joint research and development projects that help move quantum technology out of the lab and closer to real world use. Delivered by Innovate UK in partnership with the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), the programme made up to £600,000 in grant funding available to UK registered businesses working with Dutch partners. 

The funded projects focus on areas where quantum technologies could make a meaningful difference in the future, from improving how everyday products are developed, to enabling ultra secure communications and new kinds of computing networks.

DINOCHEM PRO: Faster, smarter product development through advanced simulation 

DINOCHEM PRO (Discovery of Novel Chemistry Processes) brings together PsiQuantum, Unilever, and the Quantum Applications Lab (QAL) at TNO to develop a powerful new way of simulating chemical processes used in everyday products, such as personal care and household goods. 

Today, developing and testing new formulations can be slow and costly, relying on repeated laboratory experiments. This project aims to improve how accurately scientists can predict how certain molecules behave, helping companies make better decisions earlier and reduce the time it takes to bring new products to market. 

The tools being developed will work with today’s high performance computers, while being designed so they can take advantage of future quantum computers as they become available without needing to rebuild existing systems. By combining Unilever’s industrial expertise, QAL’s specialist research facilities and PsiQuantum’s advanced modelling approaches, the project will deliver immediate value while preparing for longer term technological advances. 

QUIETER: Connecting future quantum computers and networks

The Quantum Interfaces for Efficient Tunable Entanglement Resources (QUIETER) project focuses on a key challenge for the future of computing and communications: how to reliably connect different quantum systems so they can share information. 

As quantum technologies develop, different systems often use different physical methods to store and transmit information. For these systems to work together in future quantum data centres or ultra secure communication networks, information must be transferred with extremely high accuracy. 

QUIETER brings together Quantcore, QphoX, and the UK National Physical Laboratory (NPL) to develop and test the hardware needed to make these connections reliable and measurable. By using NPL’s specialist testing facilities, the team will benchmark performance and refine designs that allow information to move efficiently between quantum processors and optical communication systems. 

SuperSoC: Building the foundations for largescale quantum networks

The Superconducting Detector System on Chip for Scalable and Miniaturised Entanglement Generation (SuperSoC) project addresses another important barrier to future quantum networks: how to generate and detect quantum signals efficiently, reliably and at scale. 

Quantum networks rely on a phenomenon known as entanglement, which allows information to be shared between distant systems in ways that are not possible with today’s technologies. However, current components can be bulky and inefficient, limiting how far these networks can reach and how practical they are to deploy. 

SuperSoC aims to develop a compact, highly efficient photonic chip that can generate and detect these quantum signals with much lower losses. This could support communication between quantum systems over very long distances and enable more powerful, distributed computing systems in the future. 

Strengthening UK–Netherlands collaboration in quantum technology

Together, these winning projects reflect the goals of the UK–Netherlands Co-Innovation and Testbeds Pilot for Quantum Tech: combining expertise, infrastructure and specialist facilities from both countries to accelerate progress towards usable, commercially relevant technologies. 

By supporting collaboration across chemistry, computing hardware and communication systems, the pilot is helping to build the foundations for future technologies that could transform industries while deepening innovation links between the UK and the Netherlands.