The Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge today announced the launch of a new applied quantum program in collaboration with FormationQ . Powered by quantum technologies from the world’s leading quantum platform company, IonQ , its state-of-the-art trapped ion quantum systems, world-record gate fidelity and all-to-all connectivity — the program will translate advanced quantum research into practical, real-world applications while building the institutional ecosystem for sustained adoption.
The collaboration brings together the Cavendish Laboratory’s scientific leadership and FormationQ’s institutional and operational capabilities. The Cavendish provides the scientific foundation, while FormationQ serves as the enabling platform and long-term operator, building the institutional pathways, governance, and continuity required to translate research into sustained real-world deployment. The program will leverage IonQ’s quantum technologies spanning computing, networking, sensing, and secure systems. IonQ’s platforms provide participating researchers and teams with access to high-fidelity, scalable quantum hardware, enabling applied experimentation and system development by building on laboratory demonstrations.
Quantum technologies are increasingly recognised as critical to science, security, medicine, and global systems. At the Cavendish Laboratory, frontier quantum research comprises no fewer than four of its ten key research themes, covering quantum information and control, applied quantum physics and devices, fundamental physics of quantum matter and synthetic quantum systems.
Yet despite rapid advances in research, adoption remains constrained by gaps in institutional readiness, business model innovation, workforce capability, and coordination across the broader quantum landscape. This partnership is intended to address those challenges by focusing on building the connective tissue—programmatic and organisational—that allows quantum technologies to move from laboratory discovery into credible, sustained use to address grand societal challenges.
Professor Mete Atatüre, Head of the Cavendish Laboratory said: “Progress in quantum technologies requires strong collaborations and a constant dialogue between industry and academic research. This initiative, enabled by IonQ’s advanced quantum systems, is a fantastic step in this direction and will help turn our quantum research into practical solutions by bringing the community together.”
“Quantum’s bottleneck isn’t science—it’s the ecosystem,” said Nada Hosking, Founder and CEO of FormationQ. “Adoption demands scalable talent pipelines, interoperable institutions, and shared stewardship for long-term deployment. By uniting the Cavendish Laboratory’s scientific excellence, FormationQ’s operational backbone, and IonQ’s industry-leading quantum technologies, we’re finally constructing the bridges that turn today’s quantum discoveries into tomorrow’s practical revolutions.”
The partnership will launch the Quantum Technologies Accelerated Alignment Initiative, a two-year applied program focused on translating quantum research into real-world solutions through structured application development and institutional integration, while strengthening coordination across the quantum ecosystem.
The initiative will concentrate on three areas:
Each area will be led by an academic expert and supported by interdisciplinary research teams, pairing clearly defined challenges with open, collaborative project development to ensure research efforts are aligned with real-world needs.
By combining the Cavendish Laboratory’s depth of scientific leadership and the expertise across departments of the University of Cambridge with FormationQ’s operational and institutional approach, and leveraging IonQ’s quantum technologies as applied tools, the partnership aims to support long-term impact across research translation, workforce readiness, and applied deployment.