A consortium of leading quantum technology firms, including Oxford firms TreQ and Oxford Ionics, has been awarded a substantial £1.65 million grant from Innovate UK to develop an innovative Open Architecture Quantum (OAQ) testbed.
The funding was announced last week by the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Peter Kyle, as part of a wider £121 million investment aimed at bolstering the UK’s quantum technology sector.
This initiative falls under the Quantum Missions Pilot, a programme designed to overcome technological hurdles in the commercialisation of quantum technologies, aligning with the UK’s National Quantum Strategy. The collaborative effort will focus on building a system capable of seamlessly integrating and evaluating both quantum software and hardware components, including the crucial quantum processors themselves.
Dr Joseph Rahamim, Director of Systems Engineering at TreQ, who is spearheading the project, stated: “The OAQ Testbed pushes the bounds of quantum computing systems. By integrating software and hardware built by several companies, we expand the focus beyond processors to the systems engineering required to develop the supply chain, engage more innovators, and accelerate development.”
The consortium’s ambitious plan involves constructing a highly adaptable system that can support eight distinct configurations. This versatility will be achieved by combining two different quantum processors, two separate control systems, and two unique quantum software stacks.
TreQ will take the lead in the design, construction, and operation of the testbed at its facility located in Milton Park, Oxfordshire.
In addition to the physical testbed, the project will also deliver a crucial open specification for low-level quantum workflows. This aims to establish a common interface between quantum software and hardware, accommodating different processor technologies, initially focusing on superconducting qubits from Rigetti and trapped ion qubits from Oxford Ionics.
This award marks the second significant UK grant received by TreQ this year. In January, the company was recognised as one of 28 startups supported by The Science and Technology Facilities Council as part of a £2 million initiative to expedite the market entry of new innovations.
Image source: TreQ
