Dr Florence Concepcion from Aquark Technologies has secured a four‑year Innovate UK Future Leaders Fellowship worth 1.9 million to underpin her 2.7 million project on the miniaturisation and scalability of vacuum systems for quantum technologies. The award places her among 13 business‑led fellowships out of 77 granted in this highly competitive round, signalling a significant investment in early‑career innovators and underscoring Aquark’s commitment to advancing quantum sensors from laboratory prototypes to commercial, real‑world applications.
On 16 September 2025, Aquark Technologies announced that Dr Florence Concepcion, Senior Quantum Engineer, has been awarded a £1.9 million Innovate UK Future Leaders Fellowship. The grant, administered by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will fund a four-year, £2.7 million project on miniaturising and scaling vacuum systems for quantum technologies. Concepcion was selected from 77 fellowships, 13 of which were awarded to business‑led teams.
The programme aims to shrink and simplify vacuum chambers that shield delicate atoms, thereby reducing the size, weight, and power requirements of quantum sensors and cold-atom clocks. By engineering smaller, cost-effective vacuum platforms and exploring modular, mass-produced designs, the project aims to transition quantum hardware from laboratory prototypes to commercial, field-ready devices.
Miniaturised vacuum infrastructure will benefit sectors beyond quantum sensing, including semiconductor manufacturing, medical diagnostics, and spaceborne instrumentation, where ultra-clean environments are essential. Field trials with the Royal Navy and the National Oceanographic Centre have already demonstrated Aquark’s quantum instruments, housed in the new vacuum modules, to withstand vibration, temperature fluctuations, and limited power supplies, confirming their robustness for real-world deployment.
Concepcion holds a Master’s in Physics and Astrophysics from the University of Southampton, a research year at the Harvard‑Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and a PhD and post‑doctoral fellowship in experimental atomic physics at Imperial College London. Her expertise in vacuum systems, plasma physics and precision spectroscopy underpins the project’s technical direction. Aquark CEO and co‑founder Andrei Dragomir noted that the fellowship will accelerate Concepcion’s career and reinforce Aquark’s leadership in commercially viable quantum technologies.
The Innovate UK Future Leaders Fellowship reflects the UK government’s commitment to nurturing early‑career innovators who can translate research into industrial capability. With 77 fellowships awarded, 13 led by businesses, the investment supports the development of scalable quantum hardware for navigation, secure communications and subsurface imaging, aligning with UK policy objectives to diversify high‑tech manufacturing and secure a leadership position in emerging quantum economies.
Original Press Release
Source: Aquark Technologies
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