Canberra-based Quantum Brilliance has won the Manufacturing Innovation category at the InnovationAus 2022 Awards for Excellence for its work to make quantum computing an accessible, everyday technology.
The InnovationAus 2022 Awards for Excellence were presented on Thursday night at a gala black-tie dinner at the Cutaway in Sydney’s Barangaroo district.
The category celebrated some of Australia’s best companies leading the way in making manufacturing more innovative and technologically-savvy.
Manufacturing has been positioned as one of the driving forces behind Australia’s economic recovery from the Covid pandemic, and was a key issue throughout this year’s federal election campaign.
The new Labor government is establishing a $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund, with a focus on cutting-edge technologies and innovation.
“Australia has this incredible opportunity in front of it. [Quantum] has had sustained investment which has grown an amazing research capability. The challenge now is how to take that research capability and turn it into industry and outcomes for the country,” Quantum Brilliance co-founder and chief scientific officer Dr Marcus Doherty said.
Quantum Brilliance netted the award for its efforts to produce lunchbox-sized quantum accelerators using synthetic diamonds. The use of these diamonds will mean the computers can be smaller and function at room temperature, making them far more accessible for the general public.
“This manufacturing award is really about us being able to produce those devices and get them in the hands of customers as soon as possible.”
The startup was launched in 2019 when intellectual property from a research project at the Australian National University was spun out.
The company is now leading the development of diamond quantum accelerators operational at room temperature, enabling the simplification and extreme miniaturisation of quantum technology.
Quantum Brilliance produces hardware and software utilising the properties of this new technology, producing the longest coherent time of any room temperature quantum state. This means that this form of quantum computing can be used anywhere a traditional computer can be.
The company has a close relationship with the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre in Western Australia. Earlier this year Quantum Brilliance installed the world’s first room temperature diamond quantum computer in a data centre at Pawsey, and in June this year installed the world’s first diamond-based quantum accelerator there too.
The startup closed a $13 million seed round last year led by CSIRO’s Main Sequence Ventures, and is planning to deliver quantum accelerators the size of a lunchbox with over 50 qubits by 2025.
The recognition comes as quantum technologies interest and anticipation grow around the country.”
“In quantum, we have this burgeoning feeling that we’re going to do something big. And we are working together in a great Australian spirit to really take that next big step for our technology, and also to enhance Australian industry,” Dr Doherty said.
“It’s not just us. We look around ourselves and we see amazing advancements in AI, in robotics, autonomous systems [and] biotechnology. What really excites us is how they’re all going to converge. And Australia is going to be an amazing place where we can get true synergy from all these big advancements.”
Silicon Quantum Computing and Xefco were both highly commended in the Manufacturing Innovation category. Led by Professor Michelle Simmons, Silicon Quantum Computing is pioneering quantum computing technology in Australia.
Xefco was highly commended for its sustainable water-free manufacturing solution, Ausora.
The InnovationAus 2022 Awards for Excellence was supported by: Investment NSW, AusIndustry, Australian Computer Society, Technology Council of Australia, Verizon, Mimecast, Microsoft Australia, Digital Health CRC (DHCRC), Agile Digital, METS Ignited, Innovation Manufacturing CRC (IMCRC), CSIRO, and Q-CTRL.
Photography for InnovationAus.com by Phil Carrick and Belinda Pratten
Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.