The U.K. has announced £35 million ($47 million) for quantum networking testbeds to help companies and researchers test components and network architectures together, addressing the integration challenges that stand between individual components and networks deployed at scale.

Innovate UK plans to launch two funding calls in February 2027, according to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The investment was announced at the UK National Quantum Technologies Showcase in London, where research and industry leaders focused on turning the country’s quantum capabilities into commercial products and services.

Derek Craig, UKRI’s program director for quantum technologies, told delegates that developing hardware alone would not deliver the U.K.’s networking ambitions.

“No one single organization is really going to be able to deploy a quantum network at scale,” he said.

Testing the network, not just its parts

Craig described the testbed program as a way to bring components and network architectures together, test their performance, and validate the capabilities needed for wider deployment.

The challenge extends beyond equipment suppliers. He said researchers, industry, government, regulators, standards bodies, and end users will need to collaborate to establish useful applications and demonstrate that networks can support them.

The intended applications include distributed quantum computing and secure communications. Those uses place the networking program within a broader effort to develop infrastructure that connects quantum capabilities and makes them accessible to customers.

The testbeds would support the U.K.’s ambition to deploy the world’s most advanced quantum network at scale by 2035, Craig said.

Turning research into commercial capability

The networking investment formed part of a wider commercialization push at the Showcase, held at London’s Business Design Centre on November 6.

Craig argued that the next phase of the U.K.’s quantum program must deliver commercial value and societal benefits, building on the research base and companies established over the past decade.

“We need to start translating this into capability and into actually delivering commercial value,” he said.

He also emphasized the role of public procurement in creating demand. Government commitments can give suppliers confidence that proven technologies will have customers, while testing and benchmarking help establish whether systems can meet those customers’ requirements.

Alongside the networking funding, UKRI announced £12 million ($16 million) for a national Quantum Commercialisation Skills Centre, led by Imperial College London with the universities of Bristol, Cambridge, Glasgow, and Oxford.

The center will help researchers develop the entrepreneurial skills needed to bring technologies to market. Craig described support spanning accelerators, mentorship, fellowships, and venture-building activities.

UKRI also published an evaluation of its 2014–2024 quantum research hubs and skills investments. It credited the program with supporting 74 spinouts, more than 2,000 highly skilled jobs, and an estimated £482 million ($646 million) in private investment.