Hub researchers showcase quantum innovation in parliamentary event celebrating Scotland’s Critical Technologies Supercluster

Researchers from our Integrated Quantum Networks Hub had an opportunity to showcase their work at a special parliamentary reception, that took place on 12 March within the grounds of the Scottish Parliament, at Holyrood in Edinburgh.

Sponsored by Kenneth Gibson, MSP, and organised by Technology Scotland, with support from the Photonics and Quantum Accelerator, Quantum ARC, as well as our Hub and the fellow UK Hub for Quantum Enabled Position, Navigation & Timing, the event celebrated Scotland’s Critical Technologies Supercluster, a constellation of overlapping and mutually supporting technology sectors – photonics, quantum, semiconductors, and wireless and sensing technologies.

Presently generating £4.2bn in revenue, the ambition is for the supercluster to grow through sustained plans so that it can return upwards of £10bn in revenues by 2035, while also adding a further 6,600 jobs to the portfolio of 11,000 positions currently supported by the initiative.

The event was attended by over 200 delegates, mostly comprising Members of the Scottish Parliament, industry representatives and key stakeholders from academia. Kenneth Gibson MSP, Alastair McInroy, CEO of Technology Scotland; Evelyn Toma from the University of Glasgow, and Scottish Government Minister for Business, Richard Lochhead, MSP, delivered a series of short opening speeches, after which visitors were encouraged to find out more about the critical technologies under development by interacting with specially designed exhibits representing some of the key economy sectors benefitting from these technologies.

IQN Hub researchers participated with a demonstrator jointly designed with Scottish satellite start-up (and Hub partner) Craft Prospect, showcasing a scale model of the 12U CubeSat and a video presentation of the specialist Optical Ground Station, on the grounds of Heriot-Watt University – both key components of the UK’s SPOQC quantum mission, demonstrating the feasibility of quantum secure satellite communications.

Space quantum communications is only one of the work themes of the IQN Hub, which also brings together expertise in the development of quantum memories; next-generation, scalable, terrestrial quantum network architectures utilising standard optical fibre while also incorporating entanglement distribution capabilities; quantum (and post-quantum) security approaches and standards; quantum components (sources, detectors, network switches); and new (hardware/ software) security protocols underpinning our networking technologies.