To lead a project, you can:

• be a UK organisation of any size
• be an organisation of any size, including those based in the EU, EEA or internationally
• work alone or with the subcontracted skills and expertise of others from business, research organisations, research and technology organisations, or the third sector (charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups)

Contracts will be awarded to a single legal entity only. The majority of the project work and key deliverables must be completed by the applicant. Subcontractors can be used, but only for specialist skills.

Projects must:

• start on 1 September 2026
• end by 28 February 2027
• last 18 months
• have total costs of between £1.5 million and £3 million, inclusive of VAT

Your application must have at least 50% of the contract value attributed directly and exclusively to R&D services, including solution exploration and design. R&D can also include prototyping and field-testing the product or service.

The commercial adoption of quantum networking technologies will require deployment through system integrators and service providers, who are supplied by quantum technology vendors.

The aim of the competition is to accelerate the development of enabling components and sub-systems for quantum networks. These will be in the supply chain of a system integrator or service provider, for deployment in a future commercial quantum networking system. This is to strengthen the UK’s position as an integral part of the quantum technology supply chain.

Your proposal should detail an intended use case for a quantum networking system, into which your component or sub-system will be integrated. This can be your own quantum networking system, for which you are developing the component or sub-system.

Your project must deliver:

1. An industrially relevant, deployable prototype of your component or sub-system.
2. A System Design Document (SDD), which details a system design or roadmap to illustrate how your developed component or sub-system will be integrated into a larger quantum networking system. This document should include expected technical specifications for the system, and be informed by relevant system integrators and service providers for the full system use case.
3. A Prototype Validation Report (PVR) that details the results of a test or demonstration of the prototype. The PVR should clearly show how your prototype enables the system detailed in the SDD to meet its technical specification. The PVR should also demonstrate understanding of the limitations of use for your component or subsystem and the deployment context of its intended use.

Your component or sub-system prototype must use second generation quantum technologies. Second generation quantum technologies are defined as those involving the generation and coherent control of quantum states, resulting in phenomena such as superposition or entanglement. We consider technologies involving single photon generation and detection to be in scope.

Your project must:

• develop a prototype of an innovative component or sub-system for use in a quantum networking system
• outline how your component or sub-system will be used to meet the technical specifications of a quantum networking system, and validate your prototype in this context
• engage with relevant system integrators and service providers
• undertake the majority and critical project work in the UK
• plan to further develop and exploit the solution within or from the UK

You must demonstrate a credible and practical route to market, so your application must include a plan to commercialise your results.

Your project must focus on one or more of the following, as an intended use case for a quantum networking system. If multiple apply choose one option that is most applicable.

• enabling long-distance quantum networking, including hybrid quantum, classical communications
• networking of quantum computers
• networking of quantum sensors, including for time transfer
• techniques for securing data in storage and in flight

Prototype development and evaluation

This can include prototyping, demonstrating, piloting, testing and validation of new or improved products, processes or services in environments representative of real-life operating conditions. The primary objective is to make further technical improvements on products, processes or services that are not substantially set.

Exclusions: we will not fund projects that:

• are not original in scope and duplicates someone else’s work
• do not use second generation quantum technologies
• are covered by existing commercial agreements to deliver the product or service
• do not generate industrially relevant, deployable prototypes
• do not generate system-level designs or roadmaps

Innovate UK will hold an online briefing at 3pm on Tuesday 21 April: click here to register for a place. A recording and slides will be available afterwards.

If you would like help to find a subcontractor or have other queries, contact Innovate UK Business Connect’s Quantum team.