Innovate UK Scaling Performance of Quantum Computing Hardware CR&D 2026: Share of £33 Million for Fault-Tolerant Quantum Hardware

Innovate UK Scaling Performance of Quantum Computing Hardware CR&D 2026: Share of £33 Million for Fault-Tolerant Quantum Hardware

Innovate UK, the business-facing council within UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), has opened a collaborative research and development (CR&D) competition titled Scaling performance of quantum computing hardware, reference 2523. The competition makes up to £33 million available to UK-registered organisations working on the device-level hardware and associated software needed to reach universal, fault-tolerant quantum computing. Applications are open now and close at 11:00am UK time on 18 September 2026.

This is a serious, industry-oriented funding round, not a small feasibility grant. Individual projects request between £1 million and £3.5 million in grant, run for 24 to 36 months, and are expected to start from 1 January 2027. If your organisation builds quantum hardware, control electronics, cryogenics, photonics, interconnects, or the software that makes qubits usable at scale, this is one of the most substantial UK funding routes currently open in the field.

Key details

What the competition funds

The stated aim is to “solve critical system development challenges in hardware and associated software technologies required for universal fault tolerant quantum computing platforms.” In plain terms, the money is meant to move quantum hardware from promising laboratory results toward manufacturable, production-ready systems that actually scale.

The competition is deliberately technology agnostic with respect to qubit modality. Superconducting, trapped-ion, neutral-atom, photonic, spin, and other approaches are all in scope, provided the work is directly relevant to second-generation quantum technologies — those involving the generation and coherent control of quantum states, producing phenomena such as superposition or entanglement. Single-photon generation and detection are explicitly considered in scope.

Innovate UK has published four capability gaps that a funded project should address, in whole or in part:

• Verifiable and uniform below-threshold error rates across the qubit package, so that error correction can work reliably at scale.
• Scalable control, input and output channel architecture for the specified qubit package — the wiring, electronics, and signal routing that so often become the bottleneck as qubit counts rise.
• Minimising latency and maximising throughput of the quantum syndrome processing cycle, including the encode, measure, readout, and decode operations that determine application runtime performance at scale.
• Modular interconnect and qubit networking to achieve the rate and fidelity needed across a distributed qubit package.

The organisers also encourage projects that demonstrate commercially viable industrial manufacturing and assembly processes in the UK, and projects that co-develop solutions with industrial partners and full-stack quantum computer integrators based in the UK. This is a strong signal: reviewers want to see a credible route to UK-based production and exploitation, not just a scientific result.

Who should apply

This competition is built for organisations that are already working at, or close to, the engineering edge of quantum hardware. Strong candidates include:

• Quantum hardware companies developing qubit devices, packages, or full processors.
• Suppliers of enabling subsystems: cryogenics, control electronics, cabling and interconnect, photonic components, packaging, and fabrication processes.
• Software and firmware teams building the decoding, control, and orchestration layers that govern qubit performance in real time.
• Research and technology organisations (RTOs) and universities that can contribute specialist capability inside a consortium.

Because the round targets industrial research with a clear path to manufacturing and exploitation, it fits teams that can articulate a specific capability gap and a specific engineering solution — with performance targets and a roadmap — rather than open-ended exploratory science.

Eligibility and collaboration rules

The eligibility rules are precise, and getting them wrong is one of the easiest ways to be ruled out before assessment. Confirm each of the following against the official brief:

• Collaborations only. You cannot apply as a single organisation. To lead a collaborative project, your organisation must be a UK registered business or a research and technology organisation (RTO).
• Grant request band. Your project’s total eligible grant funding request must be between £1 million and £3.5 million. Requests outside this band are ineligible.
• Duration and dates. Projects must last 24 to 36 months, start from 1 January 2027, and end by 31 December 2029. Projects must always start on the first of a month.
• UK delivery and exploitation. Any organisation receiving funding must carry out its project work in the UK, intend to exploit the results in the UK, and spend most of the funding within the UK.
• Number of applications. An organisation leading one application can be included as a collaborator in two further applications; if it is not leading, it can collaborate in any number of applications.

There are also standard Innovate UK conditions on subsidy control, sanctions, and the use of animals in research. The competition provides funding to enterprises using the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Streamlined Subsidy Scheme, and awards are classified as a subsidy that does not form part of your Minimal Financial Assistance or de minimis allowance.

How much you can claim

The £33 million is the total pot for the competition; it is not the amount any single project receives. Instead, each partner claims a percentage of its own eligible costs, and the percentage depends on organisation type and size.

For industrial research projects, funding available for your eligible project costs is:

• up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisation,
• up to 60% if you are a medium-sized organisation,
• up to 50% if you are a large organisation.

Research organisations undertaking non-economic activity as part of the project can collectively share up to 60% of the total eligible project costs. If a consortium contains more than one research organisation undertaking non-economic activity, that maximum is shared between them.

Practically, this means you build the consortium budget from the bottom up: each partner’s eligible costs, multiplied by its applicable intervention rate, must sum to a grant request that lands between £1 million and £3.5 million. Model this early, because a consortium that is too large or too research-heavy can drift outside the band or leave partners under-funded.

The scope test: what will not be funded

Innovate UK is explicit about projects it will not support. Yours must not:

• fail to identify specific capability gaps and solutions for universal fault-tolerant quantum computers,
• fail to focus on developing a hardware solution relevant to universal fault-tolerant quantum computers,
• duplicate someone else’s project scope and definition, or
• duplicate existing commercial agreements, including those from UK Government or other international agencies.

The competition also cannot fund work that is dependent on export performance or on using domestic goods over imported ones, in line with subsidy control rules. Read the scope section of the brief closely and make sure your summary answers the scope question directly — assessors use it as a gate.

Application process and what you will need

Applications are submitted through the Innovation Funding Service (IFS), where you sign in (or create an account), start an application for competition 2523, and complete each section. The application is structured around the familiar Innovate UK format: project details, an eligibility and scope check, and a series of assessed questions covering the need or challenge, the approach and innovation, the team and resources, the market and exploitation plan, the wider impact, project management, risks, and the funding requested.

Expect to prepare:

• A clear articulation of the capability gap you are addressing and the hardware solution you propose, mapped to one or more of the four published themes.
• A technical plan that demonstrates feasibility and performance against scale, programmability, and application runtime requirements, and validates your industrial processes and hardware against the capability gaps.
• A performance and impact roadmap showing where your work sits on the path to a universal fault-tolerant machine.
• Well-defined work packages using SMART criteria (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-bound), each with a lead partner and total cost.
• A finance section for every partner, including eligible costs and the correct intervention rate.
• A credible UK exploitation and manufacturing narrative.

If you need reasonable adjustments to apply — for a disability or long-term condition — Innovate UK asks that you make contact at least 15 working days before the closing date so support can be arranged.

Timeline to plan around

• Late June 2026: competition opens (the UKRI listing shows an opening date of 29 June 2026).
• 18 September 2026, 11:00am UK time: applications close. This deadline is strict; late submissions are not accepted, and Innovate UK warns that third-party sites may not always show the correct information, so rely on the official brief.
• From 1 January 2027: funded projects begin (always on the first of a month).
• By 31 December 2029: all projects must be complete.

Work backwards from the September deadline. A consortium bid of this size typically needs several weeks to align partners, negotiate scope and budgets, secure collaboration agreements in principle, and draft and review the technical case. Innovate UK’s own guidance suggests roughly a 30% success rate for similar competitions, so the quality bar is high and the writing needs time.

Preparation strategy and reviewer expectations

Assessors reward projects that are specific, technically credible, and clearly exploitable in the UK. A few practical points:

• Name the gap and the metric. Vague ambitions to “improve qubits” score poorly. State which capability gap you address and the measurable performance target you will hit.
• Show the roadmap. Reviewers want to see how your 24-to-36-month project moves the field toward fault tolerance, and what comes after it.
• Build the right consortium. Because this is collaboration-only, the mix of partners matters. Pair hardware developers with the manufacturing, integration, or software capability needed to make the result usable — and give each a real role and budget.
• Respect the portfolio approach. Innovate UK wants variety across technologies, maturities, and locations. A distinctive, well-scoped project that fills a genuine gap can be more competitive than a crowded, generic one.
• Get the compliance basics right. Confirm the grant band, dates, UK-delivery rules, and subsidy position before you invest heavily in the narrative.

Common mistakes to avoid

1. A grant request outside £1 million to £3.5 million. This is an eligibility gate, not a guideline.
2. Applying as a single organisation. The competition is collaboration-only; a lead must be a UK business or RTO.
3. A weak scope answer. If your project does not clearly target a named capability gap and a hardware solution, it can be filtered out before detailed assessment.
4. No UK exploitation story. Work, exploitation, and most spend must be in the UK; a thin plan here undermines the whole bid.
5. Leaving the finance modelling late. Intervention rates differ by partner type and size, and research organisations are capped at a shared 60% of total eligible costs. Model the budget early so the totals land in band.
6. Missing the deadline. The 11:00am UK time cut-off on 18 September 2026 is firm.

Frequently asked questions

Is this open to any qubit technology?

Yes. The scope is technology agnostic across superconducting, trapped-ion, neutral-atom, photonic, spin, and other modalities, as long as the work targets second-generation quantum technologies for universal fault-tolerant quantum computing.

Can a university apply?

Research organisations can take part within a consortium, and the lead can be an RTO. Research organisations undertaking non-economic activity can share up to 60% of total eligible project costs. A UK registered business can also lead. Check the detailed eligibility guidance for your organisation type.

How much will my project actually receive?

Each partner claims a percentage of its eligible costs (up to 70/60/50% for micro-small, medium, and large organisations respectively under industrial research), and the combined grant request must sit between £1 million and £3.5 million.

When would the money start?

Funded projects start from 1 January 2027 and must end by 31 December 2029, always beginning on the first of a month.

Where do I apply?

Through the Innovation Funding Service, competition 2523. The canonical opportunity summary is on the UKRI website.

Official links

• UKRI opportunity page: https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/2523-scaling-performance-of-quantum-computing-hardware-crd/
• Full competition brief and application: Innovation Funding Service, competition 2523 (linked from the UKRI page)

Treat the official Innovate UK competition brief as the single source of truth for dates, eligibility, funding rates, scope, and subsidy rules. If any detail here differs from the brief, the brief prevails. For a project of this scale, register on the Innovation Funding Service early, confirm your eligibility against the brief, and give your consortium enough runway to build a specific, well-evidenced, UK-anchored proposal before the 18 September 2026 deadline.