A SCOTTISH firm has been awarded a historic £2.34 million investment to help develop the next generation of quantum-enabled navigation and time-keeping systems.
Skylark Lasers, a leading Edinburgh-based photonics company, has been awarded 10% of the total funding available from Innovate UK and won the largest single amount for quantum investment in Scotland ever.
The money will be invested in establishing and scaling the production of quantum gravity sensors to accelerate advancements in the autonomous navigation of shipping vessels and provide navigational precision to tankers on the open seas, where GPS and satellite navigation are poor.
A study by Innovate UK in 2017 revealed that a global navigation satellite systems failure could cost the UK upwards of £500m per day. The fund and subsequent innovation seek to combat that.
Commenting on the funding win, Dr. Ben Szutor, CEO at Skylark Lasers, said: “We are excited to continue our development efforts within the fields of quantum technologies. This is a milestone moment for Skylark Lasers as this new funding will enable the full-scale commercialisation of our quantum portfolio.
“These innovations have the potential to revolutionise the ship and rail navigation, civil engineering, and underground resource exploration sectors which will have a significant influence on global supply chain efficiencies.
“Having previously worked with industry leaders such as Qinetiq and RSK, this funding will provide the vital push to create production-ready quantum-enabled tools and propel the UK’s capabilities on a global level.”
“Scotland is at the forefront of worldwide laser innovation and this funding will further excel Skylark Lasers as a pioneer in the development of quantum technologies, and allow us to grow the business in the coming years.”
Roger McKinlay, a quantum technologies challenge director at Innovate UK, said: “We’re delighted to be helping Skylark Lasers build up their portfolio of high-performance quantum products for which there is growing customer demand.
"Here is evidence that the UK's technical leadership is now being translated into real industrial capability”.
