UK-Canada Quantum Communications and Networking Demonstrator

To lead a collaborative project your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size or academic institution.

The consortium must contain at least one UK registered micro, small or medium sized enterprise (SME) claiming grant funding on this application.

To collaborate with the lead as a funded partner, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:

• business of any size
• academic institution
• charity
• not for profit
• public sector organisation
• research and technology organisation (RTO)

No one partner can account for more than 70% of the total cost or claim more than £3m in funding.

A business or academic institution can only lead on one application but can be included as a collaborator in a further two applications.

Your project must:

• have a grant funding request of no more than £3.425 million
• last between 30 and 36 months
• not start before 1 April 2026
• end by 31 March 2029

Any funded organisation needs to carry out their project work in the UK and must intend to exploit the project results from or in the UK.

The aim of this competition is to develop and demonstrate terrestrial and spaceborne quantum communications capability. It is also to strengthen UK and Canada partnerships in the commercialisation of quantum communications and networking technologies.

The successful project in this competition will be the UK counterpart to a project that will be sourced in Canada through a separate process. The UK and Canadian projects together form a support programme, to provide additional capability for a planned satellite mission. The successful project partners will be expected to co-operate with the organisations delivering the Canadian project.

For planning purposes, you can expect the satellite mission to launch in early 2027, with operational readiness for a demonstration from mid 2027.

Your project must:

• focus on quantum communications or networking technologies
• involve terrestrial technology demonstrations for research and development, performance evaluation, or de-risking of productisation, approximately 80% of the project
• include a work package focused on building preparedness for a demonstration with a satellite mission, approximately 20% of the project
• include a plan for future exploitation and productisation

We welcome projects that:

• develop future products or services
• build infrastructure or industrial capability for quantum communications and networking
• engage relevant end users and potential future customers

Related technologies, such as post quantum cryptography, are considered in scope if they are used alongside specific quantum technologies.

Your project must focus on one or more of the following:

• security of communications using quantum enabled and related technologies
• entanglement distribution towards non-security applications, such as blind quantum computing
• development of terrestrial testbeds and infrastructure, such as satellite ground stations

Innovate UK will hold an online briefing at 10am UK time on Wednesday 5 November: click here to register for a place. A recording and slides will be available afterwards.

If you want help to find a project partner, contact Innovate UK Business Connect’s Quantum team.