Overview
- The UK announced the National Quantum Standards Network, which launched on Tuesday June 16, 2026, and will be hosted and led by the National Physical Laboratory with an initial £10 million from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
- The QSN will develop technical and manufacturing benchmarks covering device metrics such as ultra‑narrow laser linewidths, sensor size, weight and energy use, and standards for post‑quantum cryptography to make quantum devices reliable and comparable.
- Key partners in the network include the British Standards Institution, UKRI’s National Quantum Computing Centre, the National Cyber Security Centre and industry group UKQuantum, and the programme will move next into stakeholder coordination and technical workstreams to prepare UK inputs to international standards bodies.
- Government and NPL say the move aims to boost commercialisation and exports, with industry signs of confidence such as Vescent opening its first office outside the US at NPL’s campus and official projections that the sector could add up to £212 billion and 100,000 jobs over time.
- The QSN builds on the broader £2 billion national quantum package announced earlier in 2026 and is intended to reduce technical risk, speed procurement at scale and give UK firms influence in forthcoming global rules that will determine how quantum tech is bought, sold and trusted.