Applications include the transformation of early disease diagnosis, quantum cameras capable of detecting gas leaks, the creation of a ‘quantum internet’, and improved navigation and timing systems.

Five hubs are being delivered by the UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) with a £106 million investment from EPSRC, the UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Research Council, UKRI Medical Research Council, and the National Institute for Health and Care Research.

The University of Bristol, which has long been at the forefront of quantum research, will play a critical role in three of the five new hubs, receiving more than £4.5m in total funding.

The hubs Bristol will be involved in are the UK Quantum Technology Hub in Sensing, Imaging and Timing (QuSIT), the Integrated Quantum Networks (IQN) Quantum Technology Research Hub, and the UK Hub for Quantum Enabled Position, Navigation and Timing (QEPNT).

Dr Alex Clark, Senior Lecturer and Royal Society University Research Fellow in the Quantum Engineering Technology Labs in Bristol, will be playing a prominent role in the University’s research for the new hubs.

Dr Clark said: “We are incredibly excited to be taking leading roles in this UK-wide collaboration. The team brings a huge array of skills from diverse backgrounds which will be key to creating novel technologies that will be translated into real-world applications.”

The QuSIT Hub being led by the University of Birmingham aims to overcome barriers to quantum sensing, imaging and timing, aiming to ‘see the invisible’ with applications in health such as quantum brain scanners to investigate dementia, and quantum cameras to detect gas leaks.

Dr Clark will be leading one of the work packages in the QuSIT Hub targeting infrared sensing and imaging of gases over long distances while only needing to detect visible light.

The IQN Hub, led by Heriot-Watt University, will contribute research toward the goal of creating a ‘quantum internet’  formed of globally-interlinked quantum networks connecting multiple quantum computers. This will produce enormous computational power and ensure future-proofed secure communications.

University of Bristol academics involved in the IQN Hub come from the High Performance Networks Group, the Smart Internet Lab, the Bristol Digital Futures Institute, and the Quantum Engineering Technology Labs. Bristol academics Professor Dimitra Simeonidou, Dr Rui Wang, Dr Siddarthi Joshi and Dr Alex Clark will lead on various pieces of work in the IQN Hub to enhance quantum network capabilities.

Dr Clark said: “The University of Bristol has been a world-leader in quantum communication demonstrations and quantum networking, having been involved in the current Quantum Communications Hub for a decade. We are extremely proud to be able to continue that tradition and take networks to the next level needed for future quantum technology development."

The third hub the University of Bristol will contribute to is the QEPNT Hub, led by the University of Glasgow, which will deliver quantum technologies to develop resilient position, navigation and timing systems for use in national security and critical national infrastructure.

Dr Carrie Weidner, Senior Lecturer from the School of Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering and School of Physics will lead a QEPNT project to make quantum-enhanced navigation systems more robust, decreasing their size and weight and increasing functionality. Meanwhile Dr Clark will work on covert range finding systems. The QEPNT Hub’s activities will combine for use outside the lab in real-world air, land and sea demonstrations.

Dr Weidner said: “Quantum-enhanced positioning, navigation, and timing is one of the most advanced applications of quantum technology, and Bristol is delighted to be a part of this hub and its efforts to develop this technology, bringing devices out of the lab and into the real world.”

The other two hubs are the UK Quantum Biomedical Sensing Research Hub (Q-BIOMED) being led by University College London, and the Hub for Quantum Computing via Integrated and Interconnected Implementations (QCI3), being led by the University of Oxford.

EPSRC Executive Chair Professor Charlotte Deane said: “Technologies harnessing quantum properties will provide unparalleled power and capacity for analysis at a molecular level, with truly revolutionary possibilities across everything from healthcare to infrastructure and computing.

“The five Quantum Technology Hubs announced today will harness the UK’s expertise to foster innovation, support growth and ensure that we capitalise on the profound opportunities of this transformative technology.”

The new hubs continue the work of the UK National Quantum Technologies Programme. Now in its tenth year, the partnership of more than £1 billion between government, academia and industry, fast-tracks quantum knowledge from laboratory to wider society and economic impact.

They are a key component of the UK National Quantum Strategy, which outlines an investment of £2.5 billion of government funding in quantum R&D in the next ten years, and are closely aligned to the five National Quantum Strategy Missions, which outline where quantum technologies can bring significant benefits to the economy and society.

For more information about the Quantum Hubs, visit: Five hubs launched to ensure the UK benefits from quantum future – UKRI.