Denmark has committed to strengthening the collaboration with United Kingdom on quantum technology and quantum research with a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
Denmark’s Minister for Higher Education and Science, Christina Egelund, and the British Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation, Andrew Griffith convened during a meeting in the OECD Committee for Scientific and Technological Policy to sign the new bilateral agreement.
The Danish Minister of Higher Education and Science, Christina Egelund, states:
“The UK is a very attractive partner in the quantum field, with world class research environments and great investments. With the new MoU, we are bringing Denmark’s quantum strategy to a higher international level. Quantum technology holds enormous potential to provide us with solutions in virtually every imaginable area, but it requires large investments and strong collaboration. For a small open economy such as Denmark, it is crucial to cooperate with the world’s leading countries. Both when it comes to talent exchange, research, innovation, commercialization, security and defense. Therefore, I am very pleased that Denmark and the UK will now initiate an even closer collaboration on quantum technology.”
The MoU comes just a year after the announcement of Denmark’s national quantum strategy. The two-part strategy allocates 1.2 billion DKK to advancing quantum research and the commercialization of quantum technologies. The strategy highlights international research and innovation collaborations as a key aspect in maintaining a strong position for Denmark as an international quantum leader.
A shared vision for advancing quantum technology: Promoting quantum research and the continuation of the NATO DIANA program
The MoU is part of Denmark’s national effort to foster international quantum collaboration and partnerships with like-minded nations to ensure that quantum technologies are utilized to the benefit of society.
Building on a shared ambition to accelerate the development of quantum technologies and mature the quantum industry, the MoU defines a set of strategic focus areas:
- Increasing academic research collaboration on key quantum technologies and facilitating knowledge exchanges between academia and the private sector.
- Exploring opportunities to expand the quantum talent pool through new academic initiatives.
- Supporting the continuation of the NATO DIANA program.
- Increasing dialogue on framework conditions for the quantum ecosystem on areas such as investment screenings, global supply chains, international governance and research security.
- Supporting the quantum industry through shared access to research infrastructure, use case development, scale-up opportunities and funding opportunities.
The implementation of the new MoU will be revisited through ongoing bilateral dialogues and annual meetings between relevant government authorities from the UK and Denmark.
The full MoU is available here: Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation within the area of quantum science and technology between the United Kingdom and Denmark
Building on strong ties between the UK and Denmark
The UK is no stranger to Danish Quantum Community. In September 2023, a Danish delegation with representatives from Danish quantum researchers and startups represented Denmark in our booth at Quantum.Tech, a UK-based conference exploring the applications of quantum technology.
Two Danish speakers were part of the conference programme and helped highlight the progress of the Danish quantum ecosystem: Gopal Karemore from Novo Nordisk moderated a session on quantum for pharma, and Kurt Stokbro, CEO of Sparrow Quantum, partook in a panel on international quantum initiatives.
The Danish delegation had the pleasure of visiting Harwell Campus, home of the UK’s National Quantum Computing Center and supported by a 93 million GBP investment from the UK Research and Innovation.
The conference recap is available here: Quantum.Tech 2023
