Soton quantum firm Aquark Technologies wins £3.4m to develop world’s first cold atom clock

Aquark Technologies, a quantum tech company based in Southampton, has won a £3.4 million contract from Innovate UK to develop AQlock – the UK’s first commercially available cold atom clock.

Cold atom clocks are extremely precise tools which measure time using atoms that have been cooled to almost absolute zero.

Atomic frequencies are incredibly stable and consistent, allowing clocks based on them to operate for millions of years without losing a second.

AQlock uses a unique laser cooling method known as a super molasses, which doesn’t require an applied magnetic field to trap atoms.

This makes the clock more portable and robust than other cold atom clocks, as well as being easier to produce commercially.

Currently, the UK relies almost entirely on a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) for positioning, navigation and timing services.

And according to a government report last year, it would cost the UK £7.6 billion if GNSS signals were lost for 7 days.

The need to develop a more resilient system has therefore been recognised in the government’s new Framework for Greater Position, Navigation and Timing Resilience to underpin critical national infrastructure.

Cold atom clocks could prove the solution.

Up to now, the required components have rendered past designs too complex, large and power-intensive for meaningful real-world use, and most have been limited in their application.

But Aquark says it’s successfully overcome this major limitation by minimising the need for magnetic field control and miniaturising its cold atom engine.

This miniaturisation enables mass-scale implementation of highly precise sensors and clocks, GNSS-independent inertial navigation, and quantum computing.

Aquark has already proven the feasibility of its cold atom clock technology – including technical demonstration of an open-loop clock signal – on a previous Innovate UK-funded project.

Its latest contract win comes via the Small Business Research Initiative.

Andrei Dragomir, CEO of Aquark, said: “The award from Innovate UK allows us to transition the AQlock to commercial readiness, including extensive lab and live-environment testing.

“Delivery of the AQlock will open up quantum-enabled systems for global PNT.

“It will also establish a UK-prioritised supply chain, providing the opportunity for wholesale transition away from GNSS dependency and replacing vulnerable systems with UK quantum technology.”

AQlock is designed to integrate into existing systems as an accompaniment or augmentation to GNSS-enabled technology.

Aquark’s initial target sectors include telecoms, defence, finance and aviation.