Joint Agreement on Quantum Research signed:
Quantum Technologies promise significant economic and societal advances across a wide range of sectors – from communication and finance to energy supply and healthcare. They are on the verge of entering industrial applications and, consequently, everyday life. How quickly and successfully this key technology is adopted, and the role Europe will play, also depends on how European countries position themselves in the current political landscape. The United Kingdom, for example, has moved closer to the EU in several areas since Brexit, including metrology, where it has become an active member of the European Metrology Partnership again this year.
Coinciding with the state visit of Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to King Charles III, the national metrology institutes of both countries have intensified their collaboration in one of the most important future research and technology fields: Quantum Technology. By signing a Memorandum of Understanding, the President of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Prof. Dr. Cornelia Denz, and the CEO of the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), Dr. Peter Thompson, reaffirmed their closer research cooperation in this highly relevant technological field. Metrology plays a central role here, as reliable, interoperable, and scalable measurement methods cannot be established without clear metrological frameworks.
With this new agreement, Germany and the United Kingdom demonstrate their closeness and agree to intensify collaboration in research and technology development. This includes, among other activities, laboratory exchanges for researchers, comparison measurements on each other’s test facilities, joint symposia and conferences, and closer cooperation in shared standardization projects. In this sense, the agreement is a perfect complement to the recently established NMI‑Q initiative, in which the G7 countries and Australia are jointly developing uniform standards for Quantum Technologies. More information about the agreement can be found here.
Source reference: Press release PTB