Innovate UK has opened a £13 million competition for UK businesses that can turn quantum computing into something a real industry can use.
Quantum computing has spent a long time being interesting. This competition is about making it useful. Innovate UK wants projects that take a clearly defined industrial or public sector problem, build quantum software that solves it, and prove the quantum approach beats the classical one. You can apply for a grant of between £300,000 and £4 million.
Below, I have explained the key things you need to know about this competition before you apply: who is eligible, how much funding is on the table, and what the application process looks like.
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Who is Eligible?
Your Organisation
To lead a project, you must be a UK registered business of any size. Academic institutions can take part but they can't lead. If you are a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise, SMEs can apply as a sole applicant or lead a collaborative project, involving multiple organisations.
You can bring in the following as collaborators:
- Academic institutions
- Charities
- Not-for-profits
- Public sector organisations
- Research and technology organisations (RTOs)
- UK registered businesses
No single organisation can claim more than 70% of the total eligible project costs, and no organisation can claim more than £1 million. Research organisations together are limited to 30% of total eligible project costs. You can use subcontractors, but overseas subcontractors need detailed justification.
Your Project
Your project must:
- Claim a grant of between £300,000 and £4 million
- End by 31 December 2029
- Last between 24 and 36 months
- Start by 1 January 2027
All funded work must be carried out in the UK, and you must intend to exploit the project results from or within the UK.
Your project must also:
- Address a clearly defined industrial or public sector problem where quantum computing will have a major impact
- Deliver quantum software as its main output
- Demonstrate execution, benchmarking and validation on near term quantum computing systems, including cloud-based platforms and simulated hardware
- Focus on at least one of: design and simulation of new materials, finance, healthcare and drug discovery, optimisation for transport and infrastructure, or quantum machine learning
- Include end user, industrial or public sector engagement to define requirements and assess utility, commercial value and broader impact
- Present a credible plan for adoption, exploitation and future scaling in the UK
- Show that quantum approaches offer advantages over classical methods, now or in the near term
Innovate UK won't fund projects that:
- Deliver exclusively classical software, including quantum inspired algorithms
- Don't assess the commercial value and broader impact of the solution
- Don't focus on solving a particular problem
- Don't include delivery of significant and critical activities in the UK
- Duplicate scope and costs from other UK Government or international initiatives that have been or are currently funded
How Much Funding Can I Apply For?
The amount you can claim depends on your organisation's type and size and the sort of research your project involves.
Individual grants range from £300,000 to £4 million.
Applying as a Company
| Project Type | Micro and Small | Medium | Large |
|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial Research* | 70% | 60% | 50% |
*Industrial research refers to planned research aimed at acquiring new knowledge for developing new products, processes, or services.
This competition only funds industrial research.
Funding Example
If you are a small company with eligible project costs of £500,000, you can claim 70%, which is a grant of £350,000. You will need to fund the remaining £150,000 from other sources, like R&D Tax Relief, investment or loans.
Applying as a Non-Commercial Organisation
Research organisations can share up to 30% of the total eligible project costs between them. Academic institutions are funded at up to 80% of their full economic costs (FEC), calculated using the TRAC methodology. Charities, not-for-profits, public sector organisations and RTOs that carry out non-economic activity are funded at the same rate as research organisations for that work.
How Do I Apply?
The deadline for applications is 16 September 2026.
Applications are submitted via Innovate UK's Innovation Funding Service (IFS) portal.
The application is split into four sections:
Project Details
This section is not scored. It covers:
- Application team
- Project duration
- Project summary
- Project title
- Public description
- Research category
- Scope explanation
- Start date
Most answers in this section are limited to 400 words. You can't include website URLs.
Application Questions
There are 16 questions in total:
- Six unscored administrative questions covering applicant location, animal testing, permits and licences, international collaboration, export licences, and trusted research and innovation
- Ten scored questions covering your business need, approach and innovation, team and resources, market awareness, outcomes, wider impacts, project management, risks, additionality, and costs and value for money
You can include appendices (PDFs of up to two A4 pages) for the approach, team, project management, and risk questions.
Finances
Each organisation in the project submits its own costs and funding rate.
Project Impact
This section is not scored and gives Innovate UK background on the wider impact of your project.
Your application will be reviewed by three independent assessors. Their individual scores will be combined to determine your final result.
If you're successful, you'll be notified by 22 October 2026.
Like with most competitions, Innovate UK takes a 'portfolio approach' by funding projects across different technologies, markets and technological maturities. This means that a strong score won't necessarily guarantee that your application will be successful.
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