On 20th November 2024, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus became a hub of excitement and knowledge sharing as experts, enthusiasts, and innovators from different backgrounds gathered for Q-Day 4.0, our flagship quantum event. The event offered an in-depth exploration of the rapidly advancing field of quantum technologies, providing a platform for dialogue, collaborations, and inspiration to all participants.

The focus of the day was clear: addressing the challenges and opportunities in scaling quantum systems for real-world applications. Quantum technologies have made remarkable strides, but their practical deployment on a global scale requires tackling complex technical barriers. Dr. Najwa Sidqi, Quantum Cluster Manager at Harwell Campus, set the stage for the day’s discussions by highlighting key scalability challenges, including hardware limitations, system integration, investment needs, and ecosystem development. She also emphasised the role of Harwell campus and its thriving innovation clusters in addressing these challenges and enabling the scalability of quantum technologies.  

The day opened with a keynote presentation from Prof. Gerald Milburn, NQCC Quantum Fellow and a leading academic figure in quantum computing research. Prof. Milburn’s presentation underscored the transformative potential of quantum computing and emphasised the underlying challenges in unlocking quantum computers’ full potential and the engineering efforts that are still required for bringing quantum computing to scale.

Dr. Simon Plant, Deputy Director of Innovation at the NQCC, outlined the UK’s strategic efforts to advance quantum computing capabilities. His presentation focused on the NQCC’s mission to overcome challenges in scaling quantum systems, fostering innovation, and building a robust UK ecosystem for quantum technologies.

Some of NQCC’s initiatives include an extensive investment in hardware and software development, enabling a twin-track approach of internal development and external platform evaluation through its testbeds initiative, in addition to leading several sector engagement activities in priority domains such as financial services, healthcare, and logistics, that are aiming to de-risk adoption and accelerate quantum integration. Dr. Plant also highlighted NQCC’s efforts in community building, training and workforce development as well as its support to several quantum start-ups.

Dr. Nate Gemelke, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Strategist of QuEra Computing Inc. (one of the NQCC testbed collaborations), presented QuEra’s vision on scaling quantum computing, marking the historical milestones achieved by the founding team in Harvard.

Dr. Gemelke highlighted the importance of transitioning from a focus on the number of physical qubits to logical error-corrected qubits, marking a shift from experimental phases to delivering tangible quantum computing value. Harwell Campus’s state-of-the-art infrastructure played a pivotal role in facilitating QuEra’s recent move to the campus. Harwell’s advanced facilities and its vibrant business landscape have provided QuEra with a unique environment to expand its presence in the UK and progress its quantum computing R&D efforts. This collaboration underscores Harwell’s commitment to fostering partnerships that drive quantum innovation at scale.

Monika Zemla, Head of Business Development at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, expanded on this during her presentation. She outlined Harwell’s strategic role as a global innovation hub, highlighting the importance of its interconnected clusters in quantum, space, energy, and Healthcare. 

The day’s three panel sessions highlighted collaborative insights around hardware development applications, end user engagement, and ecosystem building, laying the groundwork for new collaborations across disciplines.

Moderated by Dr. Sonali Mohapatra, Sector Innovation Lead at the NQCC, the first panel brought together industry experts to explore how quantum technologies are already driving transformative change across various sectors. Dr. Stefan Bogdanovic at Sandbox AQ highlighted the deployment of quantum sensing systems in emergency rooms, demonstrating their ability to significantly enhance diagnostic accuracy, particularly in detecting heart attacks; while Dr. Simon Muskett, Founder of OpenQuantum shared the company’s mission to make quantum computing more accessible through affordable and interoperable platforms, bridging the gap to broader adoption. Dr. Bambordé Baldé presented Zaiku’s Sakurai platform, which leverages federated quantum models and homomorphic encryption to safeguard data privacy, with a focus on healthcare applications.

The second panel moderated by Dr. Najwa Sidqi delved into the technical and operational barriers to scaling quantum computers. Dr. Rustin Nourshargh, Quantum Infrastructure Lead at Oxford Ionics and Dr. Marco Palumbo, Director of Business Development at Infleqtion discussed reducing error rates, increasing coherence times, and ensuring sustainability as critical factors for scalability, while Prof. Andrew Briggs, Co-Founder of QuantrolOx discussed the role of automating performance measurement and qubit gate characterisation to assist researchers with systems scalability. Sustainability was a recurring theme, with speakers sharing strategies for making quantum systems energy-efficient while maintaining high performance.

The final panel moderated by Dr. Abby Casey, Quantum Readiness Delivery Lead at NQCC, explored the broader ecosystem needed for quantum technologies to thrive. Will Goodlad, Deep Tech Advisor at OSE discussed how investors assess the risks and rewards of quantum start-ups, emphasising scalability and strong leadership. Will Gault, Business Incubation Lead at the STFC shared how the QuBIC program supports early-stage quantum businesses, providing mentorship and funding. Victoria Kumaran, Executive Director & Co-founder at Quantum Village Inc. advocated for equitable access to quantum technology, emphasising the need to democratise innovation and avoid concentration of resources in a few corporations. 

Takeaways and looking ahead:

Q-Day 4.0 served as a powerful reminder of the immense potential of quantum technologies and the collaborative spirit needed to realise it. Key takeaways from the event include the following: 

• Scaling requires unity: Success in quantum scaling demands partnerships between sectors and stakeholders, combining technical expertise with market awareness. 
• The role of public funding and government policy: Governments must continue to support quantum initiatives through funding and stakeholder engagement frameworks. 
• Engagement matters: Q-Day 4.0 provided a good platform for stakeholder engagement inspiring participants about ways to collaborate and be part of a technological revolution. 
• The Quantum Cluster opportunity: Harwell’s emerging quantum cluster presents a unique opportunity in driving the development and the adoption of quantum technologies through several collaborative frameworks. Thanks to a successful joint venture of the public and private sectors, Harwell Campus will speed up the deployment of impactful applications and achieving socio-economic growth.