Accelerating adoption of quantum enabled sensing and PNT
Accelerating adoption of quantum enabled sensing and PNT supports business-led collaborations researching quantum sensing, navigation and timing technologies to overcome technical and commercial adoption barriers.
This grant was recently updated
Expect applicant notifications on October 16, 2026, one day later than previously listed. The page confirms that the closed application deadline was September 18 at 11am UK time, rather than September 17, and now explicitly rules out projects that duplicate others’ work. You can also access new briefing slides and eligible-cost guidance, plus Business Connect support to find partners.
Funder: UK Research and Innovation
Due Dates: September 18, 2026, 11am UK time (Application, closed) | October 16, 2026 (Notification) | December 1, 2026 (Latest start) | November 30, 2028 (Latest finish)
Funding Amounts: £1 million–£3 million grant request per project for 12–24 months; up to £14.3 million total
Summary: Supports business-led collaborations addressing technical and commercial barriers to adopting quantum-enabled sensing and position, navigation, and timing technologies.
Key Information: Collaborations must include a UK-registered SME claiming funding; academic institutions cannot lead.
Description
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), funds industrial research to accelerate adoption of quantum-enabled sensing and position, navigation, and timing (PNT) technologies. Projects must identify a specific adoption barrier for a defined use case, propose an innovative, competitive solution, and demonstrate its feasibility and commercial viability.
Field trials, proof-of-concept demonstrations, and customer or end-user engagement should be primary objectives alongside necessary technical development. The competition encourages new or substantially extended use cases, co-development with end users, integration into existing technologies or workflows, and deployment in representative operational settings. Projects must exploit second-generation quantum technologies involving generation and coherent control of quantum states. Single-photon generation and detection are also in scope.
