Accelerating Innovation through Quantum-Powered Applications
Some claim quantum technology, especially quantum computing, isn’t here yet, but they are wrong. In fact, quantum computing technology, while still advancing, is cloud accessible and provides real benefits today. Organisations can invest today, and knowing the right quantum solution for your problem is key.
Quantum computing is not a monolithic technology; instead, there are several different modalities and qubit architectures, all of which are advancing at different rates with differing strengths and capabilities. Gate-model systems are more nascent but will be needed for critical problems relating to quantum chemistry. Annealing quantum computing is providing real-world value today for many optimization problems. For example, annealing systems were deemed as high-yield and low-risk technologies that can be deployed in the short term by the E.U. in a recent request for proposals for air traffic management applications. There are also hybrid technologies that allow the best of both worlds, where the computational power of quantum computing and HPC can both be utilized to solve real-world problems.
Identifying Applications A Key Focus
Europe is taking the lead by embracing quantum application development. In the U.K., the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) announced funding for several applications in 2025 through the SparQ programme and their report highlighted the different use cases identified. The programme impacted different industries, including optimising manufacturing, advanced drug discovery, cancer detection, renewable energy, and emergency response, just to name a few. In the U.K., Unisys created an application that optimized airline and cargo routing with researchers from the School of Computing at Newcastle University, as well as a quantum-powered fraud detection application with NQCC and Paysafe to enhance anomaly detection in financial transactions. The European Union (E.U.) is also exploring how quantum solutions can be applied to air traffic management.
Near-term application development is not solely a European focus. In Canada, there is an application to optimise farming through quantum-powered autonomous vehicle routing. In Japan, NTT DOCOMO is using quantum computing technology in production to increase the efficiency of the telecommunication networks, and in Turkey, Ford Otosan is using annealing quantum computing to optimise automobile manufacturing.
Organisations use technologies in the normal course of business, but we best understand them from the problems they can solve. Quantum computing is no different. The value of quantum computing technologies will be derived by the problems that quantum-powered solutions will solve. Because of this, organisations do not have to understand the underlying technology, instead they need to understand their own unique problems, and quantum companies and consultants with quantum expertise can help identify which of those problems map best to today’s quantum technologies.
The Future can be Quantum-Powered AI
As organisations invest in artificial intelligence (AI), the need for energy-efficient computing increases, and quantum computing can be a solution. Emerging research is showing promise on the intersection of quantum computing with emerging technologies such as AI and machine learning (ML). Annealing quantum computing has been identified to provide efficiencies with modeling of AI and ML, including research from Forschungszentrum Jülich, a leading supercomputing center in Germany, that is developing a machine learning tool that predicts protein-DNA binding with greater accuracy than traditional methods. Triumf, Canada’s particle accelerator center, is finding significant speedups over classical approaches for simulating high-energy particle-calorimeter interactions, potentially leading to major efficiencies where the AI model is used to create synthetic data. This early research shows the power that quantum computing can play in enhancing AI modeling with less energy consumption.
In February 2025, the U.K. government pledged to collaborate with energy companies to provide up to 500MW of new electricity for new data center developments in each of its planned AI growth zones. Further, the EU “has identified the establishment of AI factories as a strategic priority” to address the profound computational crunch that will occur with expanded AI. These AI growth zones should also include quantum computing as an energy-efficient computing technology for hard problems. Harnessing quantum computing to handle difficult AI workloads could allow organisations to develop innovative AI/ML techniques and offload much of the energy consumption required by classical computing infrastructure. In fact, in a recent demonstration, annealing quantum computing was shown to solve a complex magnetic material simulation using less than $1 of electricity. If solved on one of the world’s largest supercomputers, this simulation would have required the amount of energy approximately equivalent to the global annual electricity consumption.
The exponential growth in computational demands, primarily fueled by AI and ML, could overwhelm computing data centre infrastructure, showcasing the need for integrated data centres with both HPC and quantum computing.
Invest in Quantum Computing Now
Businesses and governments cannot afford to wait. The time to invest in quantum computing is now. From optimising a manufacturing floor or workforce schedule to addressing complex logistics, there are many use cases where quantum-powered solutions can provide real ROI today. To take advantage of today’s quantum solutions, organisations should connect with quantum experts to speak about the problems they face. What are those areas where the current solutions are not good enough, or where you need a faster time to solution to work at the speed of your business?
That’s why the U.K. SparQ programme is so powerful. It showcases the art of the possible across many industries. Quantum computing is easily accessible via the cloud, and there are a variety of quantum algorithm experts within quantum companies and consultants who can help an organization along its quantum journey.
techUK – Unleashing UK Tech and Innovation
The UK is home to emerging technologies that have the power to revolutionise entire industries. From quantum to semiconductors; from gaming to the New Space Economy, they all have the unique opportunity to help prepare for what comes next.
techUK members lead the development of these technologies. Together we are working with Government and other stakeholders to address tech innovation priorities and build an innovation ecosystem that will benefit people, society, economy and the planet - and unleash the UK as a global leader in tech and innovation.
For more information, or to get in touch, please visit our Innovation Hub and click ‘contact us’.
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techUK's sprint campaigns explore how emerging and transformative technologies are developed, applied and commercialised across the UK's innovation ecosystem.
Activity includes workshops, roundtables, panel discussions, networking sessions, Summits, and flagship reports (setting out recommendations for Government and industry).
Each campaign runs for 4-6 months and features regular collaborations with programmes across techUK.
techUK's latest sprint campaign is on Robotics & Automation technologies. Find out how to get involved by clicking here.
Running from September to December 2023, this sprint campaign explored how the UK can lead on the development, application and commercialisation of space technologies, bring more non-space companies into the sector, and ultimately realise the benefits of the New Space Economy.
These technologies include AI, quantum, lasers, robotics & automation, advanced propulsion and materials, and semiconductors.
Activity has taken the form of roundtables, panel discussions, networking sessions, Summits, thought leadership pieces, policy recommendations, and a report. The report, containing member case studies and policy recommendations, was launched in March 2024 at Satellite Applications Catapult's Harwell campus.
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Rory Daniels
Rory Daniels
Rory joined techUK in June 2023 after three years in the Civil Service on its Fast Stream leadership development programme.
During this time, Rory worked on the Government's response to Covid-19 (NHS Test & Trace), school funding strategy (Department for Education) and international climate and nature policy (Cabinet Office). He also tackled the social care crisis whilst on secondment to techUK's Health and Social Care programme in 2022.
Before this, Rory worked in the House of Commons and House of Lords alongside completing degrees in Political Economy and Global Politics.
Today, Rory leads techUK's emerging technologies activity across everything from immersive, web3, AI and robotics to space, gaming & metaverse.
This involves co-running techUK's flagship Innovation campaign, managing four series (including the 'Meet the Innovators' interview series), and launching 4-6-month 'sprint campaigns' on transformative technologies and sectors.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- LinkedIn:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/rorydaniels28/
Running from January to May 2024, this sprint campaign explored how the UK can lead on the development, application and commercialisation of the technologies set to underpin the Gaming & Esports sector of the future.
These include AI, augmented / virtual / mixed / extended reality, haptics, cloud & edge computing, semiconductors, and advanced connectivity (5/6G).
Activity took the form of roundtables, panel discussions, networking sessions, Summits, and thought leadership pieces. A report featuring member case studies and policy recommendations was launched at The National Videogame Museum in November 2024.
Get in touch below to find out more about techUK's future plans in this space.
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Get in touch
Rory Daniels
Rory Daniels
Rory joined techUK in June 2023 after three years in the Civil Service on its Fast Stream leadership development programme.
During this time, Rory worked on the Government's response to Covid-19 (NHS Test & Trace), school funding strategy (Department for Education) and international climate and nature policy (Cabinet Office). He also tackled the social care crisis whilst on secondment to techUK's Health and Social Care programme in 2022.
Before this, Rory worked in the House of Commons and House of Lords alongside completing degrees in Political Economy and Global Politics.
Today, Rory leads techUK's emerging technologies activity across everything from immersive, web3, AI and robotics to space, gaming & metaverse.
This involves co-running techUK's flagship Innovation campaign, managing four series (including the 'Meet the Innovators' interview series), and launching 4-6-month 'sprint campaigns' on transformative technologies and sectors.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- LinkedIn:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/rorydaniels28/
Running from July to December 2024, this sprint campaign explored how the UK can lead on the development, application and commercialisation of web3 and immersive technologies.
These include blockchain, smart contracts, digital assets, augmented / virtual / mixed / extended reality, spatial computing, haptics and holograms.
Activity took the form of roundtables, workshops, panel discussions, networking sessions, tech demos, Summits, thought leadership pieces, policy recommendations, and a report (to be launched in 2025).
Get in touch below to find out more about techUK's future plans in this space.
Event round-ups
Insights
Get in touch
Rory Daniels
Rory Daniels
Rory joined techUK in June 2023 after three years in the Civil Service on its Fast Stream leadership development programme.
During this time, Rory worked on the Government's response to Covid-19 (NHS Test & Trace), school funding strategy (Department for Education) and international climate and nature policy (Cabinet Office). He also tackled the social care crisis whilst on secondment to techUK's Health and Social Care programme in 2022.
Before this, Rory worked in the House of Commons and House of Lords alongside completing degrees in Political Economy and Global Politics.
Today, Rory leads techUK's emerging technologies activity across everything from immersive, web3, AI and robotics to space, gaming & metaverse.
This involves co-running techUK's flagship Innovation campaign, managing four series (including the 'Meet the Innovators' interview series), and launching 4-6-month 'sprint campaigns' on transformative technologies and sectors.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- LinkedIn:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/rorydaniels28/
Running from February to June 2025, this sprint campaign is exploring how the UK can lead on the development, application and commercialisation of robotic & automation technologies.
These include autonomous vehicles, drones, humanoids, and applications across industry & manufacturing, defence, transport & mobility, logistics, and more.
Activity is taking the form of roundtables, workshops, panel discussions, networking sessions, tech demos, Summits, thought leadership pieces, policy recommendations, and a report (to be launched in Q4 2025).
Get in touch below to get involved or find out more about techUK's future plans in this space.
Upcoming events
Insights
Event round-ups
Get in touch
Rory Daniels
Rory Daniels
Rory joined techUK in June 2023 after three years in the Civil Service on its Fast Stream leadership development programme.
During this time, Rory worked on the Government's response to Covid-19 (NHS Test & Trace), school funding strategy (Department for Education) and international climate and nature policy (Cabinet Office). He also tackled the social care crisis whilst on secondment to techUK's Health and Social Care programme in 2022.
Before this, Rory worked in the House of Commons and House of Lords alongside completing degrees in Political Economy and Global Politics.
Today, Rory leads techUK's emerging technologies activity across everything from immersive, web3, AI and robotics to space, gaming & metaverse.
This involves co-running techUK's flagship Innovation campaign, managing four series (including the 'Meet the Innovators' interview series), and launching 4-6-month 'sprint campaigns' on transformative technologies and sectors.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- LinkedIn:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/rorydaniels28/
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