Scaling Performance of Quantum Computing Hardware: CR&D

Innovate UK is offering up to £33 million in collaborative R&D funding to develop device level hardware and software for universal fault tolerant quantum computers

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will invest up to £33 million to support the development and production readiness of quantum computing hardware device technologies, subject to a sufficient number of high quality applications being received. The funding aims to solve critical system development challenges in hardware and associated software technologies required for universal fault tolerant quantum computing platforms.

This competition is open to collaborations only. To lead a project, organisations must be a UK registered business of any size or a research and technology organisation, and where the lead is an RTO, it must collaborate with two businesses of any size. Grant funding requests must be between £1 million and £3.5 million, covering projects lasting between 24 and 36 months, running from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2029.

Projects must:

• Identify one or more pre-requisite capabilities and specifications of a universal fault tolerant computer
• Demonstrate the feasibility and performance of hardware and software solutions to meet scale, programmability and runtime requirements
• Validate the technologies, processes and hardware solutions addressing capability gaps
• Clearly describe the relevant performance and impact roadmap

The scope is technology agnostic with respect to qubit modality, covering superconducting, trapped ion, neutral atom, photonic, spin and other approaches, and is directly relevant to second generation quantum technologies for fault tolerant computing.

The competition opens on 27 June 2026 and closes on 18 September 2026 at 11am. Innovate UK will hold an online briefing on Tuesday 7 July at 2pm, with a recording and slides made available afterwards.

Find out more and apply via the UK government’s innovation funding service.