Scientists from the University of Sussex are planning to launch a new quantum computing facility in Brighton after Chancellor Philip Hammond announced new funding for the technology this week.
The Chancellor announced plans for a further £1.6bn in R&D funding for artificial intelligence, nuclear fusion and quantum computing in this week’s Budget.
This project would be latest push from the UK in the race to produce the first commercial computer capable of making complex calculations in hours that would take normal computers billions of years to complete.
The European Union announced €1bn (£877.7) of investment in the technology earlier this week, while China is thought to have invested $10bn in the technology so far.
University of Sussex scientists are planning to create a quantum computing company to run the facility in Brighton if they receive Government funding.
The team at the University of Sussex hopes the quantum computers could help with solving some of humanity’s greatest problems like finding new cures for diseases such as dementia, creating new pharmaceuticals and more efficient fertilisers, as well as helping to create powerful tools for the financial sector.
The University of Sussex achieved a major breakthrough this week after discovering a way of insulating quantum computers, which have to be cooled at almost absolute zero to function, without using a specialised refrigerator.
A team led by Professor Winfried Hensinger and Dr Florian Mintert used quantum physics and microwave technology to insulate the computer. The university’s Ion Quantum Technology Group was also the first to launch a blueprint for a large-scale quantum computer last year.
Prof Hensinger’s group is now using the new technique to work with a powerful quantum computer prototype that is currently in its laboratory at the University of Sussex.
He said: “It’s now time to translate academic achievements into the construction of practical machines. We’re in a fantastic position to do this at Sussex and my team is working round the clock to make large-scale quantum computing a future reality.”