Talk of the government investing significant funds into the UK’s quantum computing sector this year arrives at a decisive moment, but that talk must translate into action. Quantum computing is a rapidly accelerating frontier technology crucial to national security and sovereignty, and the stakes for getting this investment right could not be higher if the UK is to maintain its historical lead.
Britain has been a first mover in quantum since its inception. Many foundations of quantum computing, from the first quantum algorithms to the principles of error correction that make large-scale systems possible, were developed by scientists working in the UK, and early government backing ensured that talent stayed here. Yet what happens next will define whether we build a national industry and ecosystem with deep, resilient roots — or become a follower.
Every major advance in computing has driven productivity, prosperity and new industries. Quantum computing is the next such leap. By operating under a different set of physical rules, it enables calculations that are simply beyond the reach of today’s most powerful computers.
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From drug and materials discovery to aerospace design, battery chemistry and complex optimisation, the world already uses high-performance computing to solve its hardest problems. However, as we have seen with AI, the power consumption of classical compute, and the data centres that support it, is rising unsustainably, bringing skyrocketing energy demands. Quantum computing will solve problems that classical machines cannot solve, whilst dramatically reducing energy needs.
Recent breakthroughs have delivered the innovations needed to build large-scale quantum computers now, using standard semiconductor manufacturing, as well the ability to run more complex algorithms and operate at lower energy usage.
This marks a turning point. Progress in quantum computing is no longer about discovering new core scientific principles. Instead, it is about engineering reliable systems that can be manufactured with the infrastructure we have today and deployed broadly by corporations and governments. Our roadmap will also allow full quantum data centres, which will be exponentially more efficient. We have reached the end of the beginning.
As quantum computing moves from research and development (R&D) into engineering and commercial delivery, clarity about what matters is critical. Leadership in quantum will not come from excelling in a single lab metric, but from building an ecosystem. Hardware, software, skilled engineers, manufacturing capability and anchor customers will bring quantum to land, sea and space — reinforcing itself over time.
That requires a different approach to investment. R&D procurement is different from procuring the strategic, commercial technology that matters next. R&D can hit every technical milestone on paper but fail to deliver anything usable at scale.
Government support helped drive the UK’s early quantum leadership. The UK’s national quantum programme, set up in 2014, directed strategy and more than £1 billion in investment. It successfully encouraged people — including myself — to stay here and help build companies and the technology.
That early lead has since been contested. Other nations have adopted similar strategies while momentum in the UK has slowed. Germany and France, for example, have moved decisively in recent years, backing quantum computing through multibillion-euro national programmes and strategic procurements. The window to act remains open, but it is narrowing.
Silicon Valley offers an example of how well-timed, strategic procurement and investment that bridges R&D labs to engineering capacity helped build out what became the world’s hub for classical compute. That helped make California the world’s fourth-largest economy today.
Relatively small sums spent wisely now will create the highly-skilled jobs, communities and hardware and software ecosystems the UK needs. It will anchor our nascent quantum sector with deep roots, and build sovereign capabilities not easily replicated elsewhere. The government can also act as — and enable — flagship anchor customers, helping new companies accelerate their product roadmaps.
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Seen through this lens, building sovereign capability is not about protectionism, but about ensuring the UK has the ability to build, deploy and benefit from strategically important technologies as they mature.
My startup, Oxford Ionics, was acquired by US group IonQ, and I now lead the company’s global quantum computing programme from the UK. That decision reflects a deliberate commitment to build and scale quantum computing capability here, bringing significant inward investment and driving rapid growth in engineering and high-tech manufacturing jobs at our Oxford site. In nascent industries like quantum, these early decisions matter. Once highly skilled teams and capabilities are embedded, they become exceptionally difficult, and costly, to move.
We’ve seen countless times there are only small windows to build lasting technological leadership. In ultra-high-tech fields, without small numbers of highly skilled, motivated people and companies embedded early, it becomes impractical and expensive to play catch up.
The time is now, or the UK’s quantum leadership opportunity may be gone forever.
Chris Ballance is the co-founder of Oxford Ionics and president of quantum computing at IonQ