There is an old saying that Nuclear Fusion is just 50 years away. And that 50-year target never gets any closer. Fusion has been worked on for decades, and one can even say there has been progress, but perhaps not fast enough for those of us who grew up with the idea that energy would be almost limitless by now. As the UK closes its JET facility after 40 years, the tokamak ring where fusion scientists attempted to harness sun-like quantities of energy, could it spell an omen for “Big Science,” and what about the growing field of Quantum Computing? How does the UK remain competitive in pioneering massive science projects that could disrupt every facet of our lives?
JET and Research Impact on Global Projects
JET, or the Joint European Torus, is the world’s largest operational magnetic confinement plasma physics experiment at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. Its construction began in 1978, with operations starting in 1983. The project was a monumental step in ongoing research into harnessing fusion power, offering a potential solution for global energy needs. Key milestones include achieving the world’s first controlled release of fusion power in 1991 and setting a world record in 1997. JET was a critical testing ground for the international ITER project, intended to be the world’s largest and most advanced fusion reactor.
The Joint European Torus (JET) has been conducting extensive research in nuclear fusion. This research is expected to benefit various fusion projects around the glove. One such project is the new Iter reactor, located in southern France. The Iter reactor is a collaborative effort involving a consortium of several countries. These include the European Union, Russia, the United States, and China. These nations have come together to pool their resources and expertise to advance the field of nuclear fusion. However, it was recently confirmed by the UK government that the UK will not be participating in this project. The exact reasons for this decision are unclear.
Goodbye Fusion – Hello Quantum?
The UK government hasn’t been shy about powering the new Quantum Revolution with plenty of initiatives ranging from an intuitive in 2014 to one in March 2023. The UK was one of the first to develop a national quantum strategy, its so-called National Quantum Technologies Programme (NQTP) in 2014. Earlier this year, in March 2023, a National quantum strategy was formulated to create a 10-year vision and action plan for the UK to be a leading quantum-enabled economy, recognizing the importance of quantum technologies for the UK’s prosperity and security.
The UK also supports private enterprise and the myriad Quantum Start-up companies creating the next quantum innovation. The portfolio of Quantum companies in the UK is diverse, comprising companies working at various levels, from building the hardware fundamental to operating quantum computers and the software and operating systems required to perform calculations. Quantum Zeitgeist has published numerous articles on these start-ups. Still, some notable companies are Quantinuum, OQC, and Riverlane; all focused on their business models pioneering Quantum Computing and Quantum Technologies.
But is the UK doing enough? A company that emerged from Bristol academics (PsiQuantum) decided to move lock-stock to the US to obtain funding. It has opened a UK laboratory, but only after raising a record sum of money in America. Was enough done in companies like PsiQuantum to help them raise funds in the UK and establish a British presence first? Consider the recent listing of ARM, which avoided the UK stock market entirely and chose to list in the US. Is there something we are missing culturally in Europe?
Without funding and investment, the UK won’t have the Big Tech Businesses of the Future. Europe has no homegrown Google, Facebook, or Microsoft despite pioneering many of the innovations that these companies are built upon. In North America, there are already notable publicly listed quantum companies. There is a danger that without access to proper funding, the capabilities and capacity in the UK get squandered. Without sounding pessimistic, there is a real danger that the UK environment doesn’t allow the level of innovation and access to capital that the US has.
Creating the Right Environment for Quantum Computing
Not everything revolves around access to funding. Much is oriented towards skills and the labor market and has a highly educated and knowledgeable workforce that can innovate in demanding and complex areas like Quantum Technologies and Quantum Computing. The UK does excel at Education, with some of the best Research Universities on the planet. The TES ranks Oxford and Cambridge in the top Three World’s Best universities. Quantum Education does happen beyond the classroom, and there are many courses available to individuals to learn quantum computing, quantum programming, or the mathematics needed to understand and build both quantum hardware and design the quantum circuits running on that hardware.
Quantum Native?
Just as we saw with Digital Natives, i.e., those not knowing an analog world, could we create a generation of Quantum Natives? Today, children are growing up fully immersed in a digital world. Might we say the same soon about future generations who can grasp the fundamentals and spookiness of the quantum world?
Quantum Education will be a vital component of ensuring that tomorrow’s generation of scholars, researchers, and quantum entrepreneurs are ready for the challenges of quantum. Unlike the digital age, current applications are less noticeable – there are no prime-time applications of Quantum Computing currently, unlike that say of GPUs. It will take time as people explore use cases in various sectors.
The critical difference to emphasize is that quantum computing is unlike classical computing, where it is possible to make conventional algorithms faster. Only specific computational tasks can be quantum enhanced, and I would argue the technology and learning bar is higher. That hasn’t stopped researchers from looking for use cases for Quantum Computing in various areas, from Finance to Pharmaceuticals and Quantum Machine Learning. If there is enough emphasis on learning quantum in the early years of children’s development, we could see Quantum Natives, where children emerge from their formative years with knowledge of quantum effects such as Superposition, Entanglement, and Qubits. Chris Ferrie has produced a book aimed at Babies (Quantum Computing for Babies), it might be lighthearted, but it does raise the question of when we should begin to educate the next generation in the language of Quantum.