Reactors on Mars and building better planes. What is the UK’s quantum computing vision?

By Marc Ambasna-Jones 02 Apr 24 Reading time: 2 mins

Autonomous nuclear reactors that could operate on the Moon and Mars, planes of the future and optimised energy networks are just some of the quantum computing use cases being promoted by the UK’s innovation agency Digital Catapult.

As part of its Quantum Technology Access Programme (QTAP), Digital Catapult has teamed up with 11 leading businesses, including Airbus, Arup, Rolls-Royce, ORCA Computing and Frazer-Nash Consultancy. Each organisation has been investigating how quantum computing could benefit industrial sectors, such as energy, infrastructure, and engineering.

Quantum machine learning

Rolls-Royce has revealed that it aims to build small, autonomous nuclear reactors that could operate safely in remote mining colonies, on the Moon, and even on Mars. The company has also used data from the Fukushima nuclear disaster to investigate the feasibility of a quantum machine learning model, to quickly identify potentially hazardous situations. Other potential use cases include aircraft design, managing the UK’s energy grid, and optimising supply chains through quantum machine learning.

“Rolls-Royce has revealed that it aims to build small, autonomous nuclear reactors that could operate safely in remote mining colonies, on the Moon, and even on Mars”

While Digital Catapult says it plans to release more detail on potential use cases in the near future, it claims the use cases currently trialled on the QTAP programme “mark a step in the direction for broader industrial adoption of quantum technology, as and when the technology evolves.”

Expertise and computing support

Delivered in partnership with Riverlane and ORCA Computing, QTAP provides participating companies with access to the ORCA PT-1 quantum photonic computer, a team of quantum experts, and ongoing technical support. It is, says Digital Catapult, the UK’s first quantum computing ecosystem and should pave the way for further industrial collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Katy Ho, director of innovation practice at Digital Catapult, said that QTAP will “sharpen participating companies’ competitive edge, as quantum computers evolve and present substantial commercial opportunity.”

“The use cases currently trialled on the QTAP programme ‘mark a step in the direction for broader industrial adoption of quantum technology’”

And according to Jonathon Adams, assistant chief engineer at Rolls-Royce, the Novel Nuclear team at Rolls-Royce is “looking to develop revolutionary new technologies and explore energy efficient applications for nuclear power on Earth and in space.” He continued, “Quantum technologies, including quantum computing, will be an enabler for this over the next 15 years. It’s important that we develop an understanding of how and when we can adopt this technology.”

Last year the UK government promised a £2.5billion investment in the UK’s quantum technologies (PDF) over the next decade, while UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) estimates that the market impact of applications for quantum computing will be between £20bn and £35bn by 2027.

Marc Ambasna-Jones / Editor-in-chief

Working as a technology journalist and writer since 1989, Marc has written for a wide range of titles on technology, business, education, politics and sustainability, with work appearing in The Guardian, The Register, New Statesman, Computer Weekly and many more.