Building on initial work over the past year the cluster will now further accelerate quantum innovation, scale emerging technologies, and aim to create over 1,000 high-value jobs and bring £1 billion in investment into the UK over the next decade.
The initiative is led by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), in partnership with:
- the Harwell joint venture, Brookfield Asset Management and the UK Atomic Energy Authority
- the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
- the Department for Business and Trade
At the launch, the UK’s new quantum cluster at Harwell Campus signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Quantum Exponential Group, the UK’s first listed investment company dedicated to quantum technology.
This partnership will accelerate the commercialisation and scale-up of UK quantum innovation, helping early-stage companies access funding, mentorship, and global markets.
Quantum technology changes lives in practical ways
Speaking about the Harwell Quantum Cluster the Science and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said:
From helping doctors discover new medicines faster to batteries that last longer and charge quicker, quantum technology can keep us safer and healthier and change our everyday lives in really practical ways.
We have a once-in-a-generation chance to lead the world in quantum technology. This cluster at Harwell shows we’re serious about grabbing that opportunity and turning it into real prosperity – over 1,000 skilled jobs, £1 billion in private investment, and making sure the benefits are felt right across Britain.
Future prosperity and resilience
Julia Sutcliffe, the Department for Business and Trade’s Chief Scientific Advisor, delivered a keynote speech to mark the occasion:
The launch of the Harwell Quantum Cluster marks a pivotal moment for the UK’s ambition to lead in quantum science and technology. By bringing together world-class research, industry expertise, and government support, we are building a collaborative ecosystem that will accelerate innovation, create high-value jobs, and deliver real-world impact across society.
It builds on this Government’s Industrial Strategy which allocated £670 million to support the UK quantum computing sector – with more to be announced to advance quantum technology across various industries including healthcare and sustainability. This cluster is not just an investment in technology, but in the future prosperity and resilience of the UK.
Department for Business and Trade’s Chief Scientific Advisor, Julia Sutcliffe, and delegates on a testbed tour at the National Quantum Computing Centre. Credit: STFC
Transforming vital UK sectors
Harwell’s proven cluster model and the work of the quantum companies already on site has successfully attracted over £250 million of private investment.
The Harwell Quantum Cluster will build on this and serve as the nation’s cornerstone for quantum collaboration and growth.
It will bring together government, academia, and industry to exploit the fundamental properties of nature, such as superposition, entanglement, and coherence, to perform tasks impossible with today’s classical systems.
Quantum technologies are expected to transform sectors such as:
- healthcare, by enabling quantum-enhanced imaging and molecular simulation for faster drug discovery
- energy and climate, by optimising energy grids, materials, and batteries for a sustainable future
- national security, by securing global communications through quantum encryption and sensing
- finance and logistics, by solving complex optimisation problems to enhance efficiency and resilience
The National Quantum Computing Centre, part of UK Research and Innovation, will serve as the cluster’s anchor facility, enabling:
- collaborative research and development
- ethical quantum development
- early access to quantum testbeds and computing platforms
Connecting the ecosystem for the quantum era
Over the next 10 years, the cluster aims to:
- grow over 100 quantum-focused companies
- create more than 1,000 skilled jobs
- attract over £1 billion in public and private investment
The initiative directly aligns with the UK’s Industrial Strategy, ensuring the country maintains its competitive edge in a fast-evolving global technology landscape.
A national asset with global reach
As a strategic national asset in the Oxford-Cambridge innovation corridor, Harwell Campus hosts over 250 organisations and 7,500 professionals.
Home to the UK’s largest concentration of national research facilities, it has cemented itself as the nation’s leading science and innovation destination.
As a multi-sector science and innovation campus, the Harwell Quantum Cluster builds on the campus’ successful cluster model.
It creates a frictionless, connected ecosystem where quantum innovators can access shared infrastructure, testbeds, and end-user partnerships, all within one campus.
The cluster will act as the UK’s international gateway for collaboration and investment, building partnerships with major global clusters in Europe, Canada, the US and Japan.
Most recently, on 6 November 2025, the UK’s new quantum cluster signed an MOU with Japan’s National Institute of Advanced industrial Science and Technology, through its Global Research and Development Centre for Business by Quantum-AI Technology.
Harwell is where change becomes real
Dr Barbara Ghinelli, Director, Innovation Clusters and Harwell Campus at STFC, says:
What we build here at Harwell is bigger than technology. It’s skilled jobs for the next generation and new companies born and scaled in the UK. It is sovereign capability and economic resilience. This is a global invitation to partner with the Harwell Quantum Cluster on the technologies that will transform the world. Quantum will change every sector it touches, and Harwell is where that change becomes real.
