Overview
Innovate UK, in partnership with the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), is investing up to £600,000 to support collaborative projects in quantum technologies.
The competition aims to strengthen UK–Netherlands research and development partnerships that accelerate the commercialisation of second-generation quantum technologies.
Projects must:
- Involve at least one UK business and one Netherlands-based business (separate legal entities)
- Collaborate with a testbed provider in the UK or Netherlands
- Demonstrate co-innovation, commercial potential, and global market opportunities
Scope
Your project must focus on development, prototyping, and testing of commercial quantum technologies. Proposals should show how they will:
- Tackle a clear technological challenge
- Deliver high potential for commercialisation
- Provide benefits to both UK and Netherlands partners
- Include a credible global exploitation plan
Projects not focused on second-generation quantum technologies (exploiting superposition and entanglement) will not be funded.
Key themes and topics
Projects must align with one or more of the following areas:
- Quantum networking: software or hardware solutions to advance commercial deployment of entanglement-based networking
- Quantum computing: algorithms, software applications, and service development
- Quantum sensing: adoption for commercial applications such as biosensing, public infrastructure, and positioning, navigation and timing (PNT)
Projects we will not fund:
- Market research, road-mapping, or landscape studies
- Projects outside the three listed themes
- Applications not advancing the commercial use of second-generation quantum technologies
Project duration
- Projects must last 18 to 24 months
- Start by 1 February 2026
- End by 29 February 2028
Award value
- UK partners can request £150,000–£300,000 in grant funding per project
- Netherlands partners can request up to €300,000 through RVO
- Each country funds its own participants under national rules
Funding rates
For UK partners, Innovate UK will fund a percentage of eligible costs:
- Micro/small businesses: up to 70%
- Medium businesses: up to 60%
- Large businesses: up to 50%
Research organisations in the UK can share up to 40% of total project costs, funded at:
- 100% for RTOs and research organisations
- 80% of full economic costs (FEC) for Je-S registered academic institutions
Eligibility criteria
Your project must:
- Request UK grant funding of £150k–£300k and Netherlands funding of no more than €300k
- Include at least one UK business (lead applicant) and one Netherlands business (project co-lead)
- Access a testbed provider (national lab, RTO, or university) in the UK or Netherlands
- Ensure balanced contributions — no partner or country can exceed 70% of total project costs
- Carry out the majority of work in the UK and Netherlands, with results exploited domestically or globally
Additional rules:
- A UK business can lead one application and collaborate on one more
- Subcontractors are allowed but limited to 20% of UK eligible costs; overseas subcontractors require strong justification
- Non-UK/EU partners may participate with their own funding, but their costs must count toward total eligible project costs
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