University of Glasgow engineers have won a major new grant to support the development of more energy-efficient superconductors which will help accelerate advances in quantum technologies.

The Superconductor Prototyping for Critical Technologies project will see researchers from the James Watt School of Engineering partner with Quantcore, a Glasgow University spinout, to build the UK’s first fabrication facility for niobium-based superconducting circuits for use in quantum computing devices. 

The Super-CT project is backed by £1.5 million from UKRI’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), with the three-year programme one of six new research initiatives announced by EPSRC that will share in £7.5 million in new funding.

Co-created with businesses, each project will focus on the evolution of manufacturing technologies and processes, aiming to develop and transform manufacturing sectors in areas where the UK can grow its lead and increase productivity.

For Glasgow’s Super-CT project, academics will focus on the development of niobium circuits, which can operate more reliably at faster clock rates while using less power, helping to reduce the carbon footprint of quantum computing devices.

These circuits offer numerous advantages over those currently made from aluminium, which can be affected by external noise, and could become a cornerstone technology for the leap into quantum.

The new funding will allow researchers to build a state-of-the-art foundry for niobium-based superconducting circuits, exploring how they can be built and scaled up from single chips to larger-scale manufacturing on silicon wafers – a key step towards producing circuits on a commercial scale.

“Superconductors are the foundation on which the technologies of the future will be built,” said Professor Martin Weides, leader of the Super-CT project and scientific advisor to Quantcore.

“This new funding from EPSRC to help establish Super-CT will help drive breakthrough advances in niobium-based superconductors. 

“It will unlock new capabilities in quantum systems, help build the strength of the UK’s cutting-edge supply chain, and further establish Scotland as a key driver for the technologies of the future.”

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According to the university, the Super-CT project will also help contribute to the goals of Scotland’s Critical Technologies Supercluster, a partnership which brings together Scotland’s strengths in photonics, quantum, semiconductors, connectivity and sensing.

The Supercluster, supported by the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde alongside Technology Scotland, the Scottish Government, and Scottish Enterprise, are working to deliver on an action plan to grow Scotland’s critical technologies sector from 11,000 jobs which generate annual revenues of £4bn today, to 18,000 jobs and £10bn in revenue by 2035.

“Scotland’s central belt is home to a unique concentration of expertise across the cutting-edge technologies which will enable the quantum devices of the future,” continued Weides.

“We can handle everything from fundamental research to prototype development at the JWNC and ultimately to commercial fabrication.”