Submitted by Pooja Pandey on Fri, 06/12/2024 - 11:06
A new quantum technology hub launched to ensure the UK benefits from resilient position, navigation and timing (PNT) advancements. This initiative will play a pivotal role in supporting national security and critical infrastructure.
Critical UK sectors like energy, finance, communications and transport rely on accuracy of the signals from global positioning satellites (GPS), which are vulnerable to interference and jamming, risking loss of a billion pounds a day to UK economy. The QEPNT aims to tackle this by creating high performance, low size and low-cost quantum technologies.Louise Hirst
The Quantum Enabled Position, Navigation & Timing (QEPNT) hub, supported by a £106 million investment from the UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), brings together leading researchers from UK universities and institutions, including the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge. Led by the University of Glasgow, QEPNT is joined by Professor Louise Hirst and Dr Dave Ellis from the Cavendish Laboratory, as well as Dr Luca Sapienza from the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge.
“Critical UK sectors like energy, finance, communications and transport rely on accuracy of the signals from global positioning satellites (GPS), which are vulnerable to interference and jamming, risking loss of a billion pounds a day to UK economy’” said Louise Hirst, Professor of Materials Physics at the Cavendish Laboratory. “The QEPNT aims to tackle this by creating high performance, low size and low-cost quantum technologies.”
“Our work will not only advance technology but will also provide the UK with robust tools to secure critical infrastructure in an increasingly complex global environment,” added Dr Dave Ellis, Head of Nanofabrication, Cavendish Laboratory.
The Hub, funded as part of the UK National Quantum Technology Programme, will develop atomic clocks and LiDAR sensors, which use light to measure range, and create smaller, lighter quantum-enabled devices for applications in sectors including roads, railways and underground transport, where they could help improve navigation systems by replacing current GPS positioning technologies.
“The new Quantum Hubs in the UK will see cutting edge research improve everyday lives. In particular, the QEPNT Hub hopes to support critical infrastructure safe from hostile threats. I’m delighted QEPNT is progressing the UK’s commitment and mission to develop quantum navigation systems to provide next-generation accuracy for resilience, independent of satellite systems,” said Tom Newby, Head of the UK Office for Quantum Technologies in the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, during the official launch at the Royal Society on November 27.
Dr Kedar Pandya, Executive Director of Cross-Council Programmes at EPSRC and Chair of the National Quantum Technologies Programme, added, “Current quantum technology research has unlocked new capabilities in several markets and is an area of strategic importance to the UK. Improving the resilience of our position, navigation and time-dependent services, particularly for critical infrastructure and security, is vitally important.”
New technology developed at the Hub could also enable improve indoor navigation on mobile devices, and upgrade the positioning systems in submarines, allowing them to operate for months without surfacing to reconnect with satellites.
“QEPNT is an important addition to the National Quantum Technology Programme. Working with our academic and industrial partners, we look forward to delivering new and exciting technologies to meet national needs,” said David Cumming, Professor of Electronic Systems at the University of Glasgow and Hub Director.
This article has been adapted from Glasgow University’s article: New Quantum Hub set to support national security and critical infrastructure.
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