Connecticut’s efforts to spur economic development around the quantum computing sector got a boost Tuesday, with the National Science Foundation announcing a state-supported initiative won a federal award worth tens of millions of dollars over the next decade.

The NSF Quantum Technologies Engine, a collaboration led by the University of Connecticut and Yale University alongside a variety of government, nonprofit and commercial partners, was announced as one of 12 winners of the latest round of NSF’s Regional Innovation Engines competition. Launched under the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, the competition aims to spur locally-focused technology and innovation projects by offering grants worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

The awards were announced at an event in Washington, D.C. Tuesday.  

Connecticut was one of nearly 300 applicants for the funding. NSF narrowed the field last year to 15 finalists proposing everything from semiconductor development in Oregon to energy grid modernization in North Carolina.

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As a competition winner, QuantumCT will receive an initial two-year $15 million award to support technology translation, workforce development and the creation of a quantum incubator and testbed located in New Haven. If the initial phase is successful, the project will be eligible for additional funding, up to $160 million over a 10-year period. 

In a statement released by UConn shortly after the announcement, Gov. Ned Lamont hailed Connecticut’s bona fides in quantum computing — a field that uses quantum physics to solve complex computing problems and calculations.

“Whereas other states may be theorizing about quantum, we’re already applying it together with corporate partners across the state,” Lamont said. “These federal funds, combined with state investment, will accelerate Connecticut’s progress in quantum technology and help establish our state as a national and global leader in this field — and we’re grateful for NSF’s support in getting us here.”

The state has been home to some of quantum computing’s foundational research. Now, with federal support, a network of universities and other partners in the state will work to turn that research into commercial applications, using quantum to encourage advancements and job growth in fields like manufacturing, drug research and financial services.

According to analysts, quantum computing could grow into a $200 billion industry by 2040. Connecticut’s QuantumCT leaders hope their efforts will create a powerful economic engine in the region.

“Connecticut is the nation’s leading state for quantum technology adoption,” Pamir Alpay, UConn’s provost and the principal investigator on the NSF proposal, said in a statement. “The award recognizes our team’s success in establishing partnerships with industry to accelerate quantum technologies and build a quantum-ready workforce.” 

The federal government is betting on quantum

Connecticut’s quantum engine was one of two quantum-related finalists in the NSF competition. The second, a “Quantum Connected” cybersecurity project led by the University of Chicago with the support of partners in the Midwest, did not receive an award.

The federal government is making significant investments into quantum computing and technology, with the goal of turning the science, which has largely been relegated to research labs and academic studies, into full-scale commercial products.

That includes creating a working quantum computer that could help consistently solve problems that classical computers cannot, a goal that the White House wants to reach by 2028. 

In June, the Trump administration issued two executive orders on quantum, arguing that the technology should be used to “drive American innovation, power economic growth, generate high-paying jobs, and bolster national security.” Weeks later, the White House held a summit that brought industry stakeholders, startup founders and technology leaders together to discuss how the industry could be pushed forward. 

The federal government is also making direct financial investments into quantum-oriented companies in the hopes of speeding things along as global competition heats up.

The NSF’s Regional Innovation Engines competition is one of several initiatives aimed at spurring development at the local level. The agency is also backing a number of smaller initiatives, including quantum workforce development funding and support for independent research that it hopes will lead to industry breakthroughs.

The hope is that the initiatives will ultimately support “investments in critical technologies and future industries will transform America’s innovation infrastructure for decades to come,” said Brian Stone, the NSF’s chief of staff who is currently carrying out the duties of the agency’s director. 

In Connecticut, “the NSF Quantum Technologies Engine will advance the Nation’s quantum innovation by accelerating the commercialization of quantum technologies for national defense, biotechnology and financial services,” he added. 

Connecticut looks to take the lead in quantum economic development

While Connecticut’s involvement in quantum computing and research dates back decades, efforts to seize the economic growth opportunities opened by the federal government are far newer.

After receiving an NSF planning grant in 2023, stakeholders formed QuantumCT, a public-private partnership launched by Yale and UConn with the support of the state Department of Economic and Community Development. In the years since, state officials have announced significant investment into the effort, including a $10 million award to QuantumCT that was announced last September as a part of a larger DECD innovation cluster award given to New Haven.

Last November, the state made a larger quantum-specific investment, announcing that when combined with the aforementioned $10 million and additional investments, QuantumCT would receive a total of $121 million in state support to help build a quantum incubator and support quantum workforce development efforts. Half of the money would only be given if the quantum project received the NSF grant, a milestone reached on Tuesday.

According to the University of Connecticut, the industry is already supporting more than 270,000 jobs, accounting for 38% of wages in the state. Nationally, quantum is expected to create more than 840,000 jobs by 2035.

State officials view quantum investments as part of a larger innovation effort unfolding in the state. 

“It’s about preparing our economy and our workforce for these incredibly disruptive innovations,” DECD Commissioner Dan O’Keefe told the Connecticut Mirror last year. “We’re a state of 3.6 million people. This is about 3.6 million jobs.” 

Michael Crair, vice provost for research at Yale, said the project has already ushered in a new wave of collaboration between academic, government, and industry partners in the state, including the first significant collaboration between Yale and UConn.

“This investment will accelerate the translation of scientific breakthroughs in quantum research into transformative new technologies and jobs, while helping ensure that the economic and societal benefits of quantum innovation are realized here in Connecticut and across the nation,” Crair said in a statement.   

The money announced Tuesday could help those ambitions become reality.

But the quantum push also faces some uncertainty and unanswered questions, not only about the viability of commercial quantum computers but also the state’s ability to develop a quantum-literate workforce — and the actual economic benefits that could result from the state’s investment.

Those are questions that will continue to follow the initiative as its work unfolds. For now, officials are celebrating the state’s opportunity to become a national — and possibly global — leader in quantum economic development.

“With this transformative award, NSF has recognized the scale of the QuantumCT Engine’s ambition,” said Yale University President Maurie McInnis. The project, she added, has the “potential to accelerate the quantum revolution for our state, region, and the United States as a whole. ”