UK Research and Innovation has published an evaluation of a decade of quantum technology research investment, identifying 74 spinout companies, more than 2,000 skilled jobs and approximately £482 million in associated private investment.
The independent assessment covers around £300 million committed by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) between 2014 and 2024. Its scope includes research hubs, skills programmes and centres for doctoral training at more than 30 universities.
Published alongside the National Quantum Technologies Showcase in London on 6 November, the findings examine the contribution of sustained research funding to technical capability, specialist employment and the development of businesses seeking to commercialise quantum technologies.
The programme was established when many quantum applications remained at an early research stage. Rather than funding individual projects without a common structure, EPSRC supported research hubs that brought universities and industrial partners together around defined areas of technology development.
The resulting activities covered quantum sensing, imaging, communications and computing, alongside the specialist training needed to support research and subsequent engineering development.
UKRI reports that the programme helped support the creation of 74 spinout companies and more than 2,000 highly skilled jobs. Its evaluation also identifies an estimated £482 million in private investment associated with the research and commercialisation activity.
Those figures describe economic outcomes linked to the programme, rather than suggesting that public research funding was the sole cause of every business investment or job created. Spinout development can involve additional capital, commercial partners and research activity outside the original funding programme.
The evaluators also calculated £547 million in monetised benefits against £442 million in programme costs, using a standard cost-benefit methodology. The wider cost figure reflects the methodology of the evaluation and should not be confused with the approximately £300 million of EPSRC investment examined.
Importantly, the estimated benefits include both outcomes already realised and benefits projected to occur during 2030 and 2031 as technologies and businesses develop. They are not a statement that £547 million in financial returns has already been received.
Quantum technology engineering frequently involves translating physical effects demonstrated under laboratory conditions into systems capable of operating reliably outside controlled research environments. That work can require the development of specialised components, calibration procedures, control electronics and manufacturing methods.
Quantum sensors, for example, use physical properties of quantum systems to measure particular quantities. Their potential advantages depend on the measurement being undertaken, the sensitivity required and how the system responds to disturbances in its operating environment.
Research at the University of Birmingham has contributed to quantum sensors being tested for medical diagnostics. Related sensing approaches may also support underground surveying, where improved information about buried infrastructure could reduce the need for disruptive investigation work.
In such applications, the sensing equipment must provide measurements that can be interpreted reliably under the conditions encountered in practice. Sensor stability, environmental interference, calibration and the interpretation of the resulting data all influence whether a technique can move from research testing towards operational use.
At the University of Glasgow, work associated with the QuantIC hub has developed quantum imaging technologies with possible applications in healthcare and environmental monitoring. UKRI highlights the potential to use such technologies when investigating methane leakage from industrial processes.
Detecting methane is only one part of an emissions management process. The measurement system must provide information of sufficient quality to locate or quantify a release, after which operators can decide whether equipment inspection, maintenance or process changes are required.
Quantum communications research presents a different set of engineering challenges. Activities at the University of York’s Quantum Communications Hub have investigated technologies intended to strengthen data network security through the use of quantum principles.
Deploying such systems beyond laboratory demonstrations requires appropriate optical components, transmission infrastructure and control arrangements. Their potential use in operational networks depends on compatibility with the wider communications architecture and the performance achieved over relevant distances and operating conditions.
Across these fields, commercial development involves more than scientific proof of principle. Products must be manufacturable, maintainable and suitable for their intended operating environments, while prospective customers need evidence that the technology can meet defined requirements.
That transition creates demand for expertise spanning physics, electronics, software, systems engineering and industrial production. The availability of researchers and engineers able to work across these disciplines is therefore part of the programme’s economic and technical assessment.
Among respondents to a survey of research hubs, 87% considered that the programme had contributed to improving the skills of the UK workforce. The evaluation also found that the research and training infrastructure helped retain specialist talent that might otherwise have moved overseas.
Quantum technology activity has developed around several research centres, including Oxford, Bristol, Birmingham, Glasgow and Edinburgh. UKRI identifies a £35 million investment by the West of England Combined Authority in a Quantum Technologies Innovation Centre as an example of additional regional investment associated with the research infrastructure.
Further support is being directed towards commercialisation and technology testing. EPSRC has selected the UK Quantum Super Connector to establish a national Quantum Commercialisation Skills Centre, supported by £12 million.
The partnership is led by Imperial College London with universities in Bristol, Cambridge, Glasgow and Oxford. It is intended to strengthen the entrepreneurial and commercial skills needed to establish and develop quantum technology businesses.
Innovate UK is also providing £35 million for two quantum networking testbed funding calls scheduled to launch in February 2027. These are intended to enable companies and researchers to develop and evaluate technologies in environments closer to their proposed applications.
UKRI has identified further investment of more than £4 million in capital equipment for quantum research hubs and £600,000 in infrastructure supporting research towards a quantum internet.
The evaluation indicates that coordinated, long-term funding has helped establish a research and skills base capable of supporting commercial activity. Further progress will depend on whether emerging technologies can be engineered into reliable products, manufactured consistently and adopted by organisations with defined operational requirements.
