Funding opportunity: UKRI: Integration of AI/HPC with quantum

Opportunity status: Upcoming

Funders: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)

Funding type: Grant

Total fund: £17,000,000

Maximum award: £3,750,000

Publication date: 26 August 2026

Opening date: 4 September 2026 9:00am UK time

Closing date: 3 November 2026 4:00pm UK time

Apply for funding to expose and overcome critical bottlenecks associated with the implementation of quantum computing within classical computational workflows. This investment will strengthen the UK’s capability to achieve accessible, UK-based quantum computers that deliver benefits beyond classical supercomputers across key sectors of the economy.

You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funding.

The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £3,750,000. EPSRC will fund 80% of the FEC.

Projects can last up to three years with a fixed start date of 1 June 2027.

Who can apply

This opportunity is open to organisations with standard eligibility. Check if your organisation is eligible

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) individual eligibility rules apply. For full details, visit UKRI’s eligibility page.

You may be named as a project lead in no more than one application. There is no limit to the number of applications you can be named as a project co‑lead.

Funding for this opportunity is subject to full business case approval.

International researchers

The UKRI‑RCN Money Follows Cooperation Agreement or the UKRI‑IIASA agreement do not apply to this funding opportunity. As such grants submitted to this funding opportunity cannot include an IIASA or a Norway‑based project co‑lead (international).

You should include all international collaborators (or UK partners not based at approved organisations) as project partners.

Resubmissions

We will not accept uninvited resubmissions of projects that have been submitted to UKRI or any other funder.

Find out more about EPSRC’s resubmissions policy.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants. We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers.

We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes:

• career breaks
• support for people with caring responsibilities
• flexible working
• alternative working patterns

UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.

What we're looking for

Demand management

Demand management is not currently being applied to this funding opportunity. However, should the level of interest exceed what can be managed within the assessment process, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) may introduce limits on the number of applications that can be submitted. Further details will be clearly communicated where this is the case. UKRI encourages organisations to support applicants in preparing well‑planned, high‑quality applications that are competitive for funding relative to the funding opportunity.

Aim

Quantum Mission 1 calls for three core outcomes:

• a competitive UK quantum computing ecosystem
• demonstrable economic and societal value
• widespread adoption and integration

Successful applications will contribute towards the delivery of transformative applications that create clear economic and societal value beyond classical computing. This will be delivered through application‑driven methodology to develop end‑to‑end hybrid workflows.

Scope

Quantum Mission 1 is part of the UK’s National Quantum Strategy and it calls for a globally competitive quantum computing ecosystem capable of delivering quantum computers that exceed one trillion coherent operations well in excess of classical capabilities. It aims to combine this capacity with demonstrable economic and societal benefits to enable widespread adoption and integration within classical workflows.

As set out in the independent review of the Future of Compute, quantum computing will play an important part in UK’s high‑performance computing ecosystem, where quantum‑classical solutions are likely to be critical to achieving best results.

Furthermore, cloud access and orchestration of resources has the potential to make quantum computing more accessible to a broad range of users.

Mission success will require:

• understanding of the quantum sectors’ need for advanced computing capabilities
• addressing critical quantum‑classical integration challenges

These collectively will enable development of application‑ready, end‑to‑end hybrid workflows, supporting the effective deployment of quantum capabilities alongside HPC and AI within user‑driven computing environments.

Key technical challenges have been highlighted:

• quantum hardware descriptors to automate orchestration decision making
• end‑to‑end performance models to balance resource allocation and minimise expected runtime
• workflow optimization in support of efficient data encoding
• transpiling and error mitigation in a seamless process

Proposals should support the case for convergence of quantum computing (QC) with high‑performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence (AI), including machine learning (ML), or a combination of these domains. Quantum computing must be central to the proposed research. Projects must address a clearly defined application use case and be developed in collaboration with a defined end‑user.

Potential research themes could include:

• AI for enhanced QC performance on end‑to‑end scalable platforms utilising modern computational techniques
• identifying and developing architectural considerations for near‑term QC utility
• creation of enhanced user experience through integration of hybrid quantum‑classical software tools
• creation of enhanced user experience through the delivery of algorithmic library tools for integration into the software stack which can be interfaced with existing classical software
• performance libraries for classical integration with quantum computing (such as, scheduling, orchestration, instruction‑specific tasking)
• simulation of quantum computing architectures with novel classical architectures, for example via accelerators
• end‑to‑end benchmarking, validation and reproducibility frameworks for hybrid AI–HPC‑quantum workflows, including fair comparison against best‑in‑class classical, simulation and AI‑enabled baselines
• advanced computing architectures for quantum computing uses cases (such as, communication protocol, latency requirements, use of Field‑Programmable Gate Arrays or use of accelerators for quantum error correction)
• ML/AI tools and methods for error suppression (such as, improved calibration, improved effective clock‑rate, error detection, correction, mitigation)

Project teams are expected to develop, at a minimum, demonstrators that illustrate where end‑to‑end hybrid quantum‑classical workflows offer meaningful advantages for key use cases.

In areas such as chemistry, materials, optimisation, partial differential equations, digital twins and broader AI‑for‑science workflows, emphasis should be placed on evidencing tangible benefits in time‑to‑solution, fidelity, cost, energy efficiency and usability, with integration serving as means to these outcomes and supporting the future deployment, accessibility and adoption of quantum computing.

Successful projects will be expected to facilitate a proportion of portfolio‑level activities to enable knowledge exchange and to engage actively with the wider UKRI Quantum Programme ecosystem where appropriate as part of the award. Participation in activities organised by UKRI, including networking events and workshops will also be required. These activities are intended to maximise collaboration, sharing of learning and collective progress towards the objectives of Quantum Mission 1.

Within their lifetime, projects outputs must map onto these Quantum Mission 1 milestones:

• by 2028, extending beyond the NISQ‑era with a million quantum operations, which will enable the exploration of applications associated with the simulation of chemical processes, for example, helping to improve catalyst design
• by 2032, demonstrating large‑scale error correction capabilities with a billion quantum operations, with applications including accelerated drug discovery

Key communities to convene

Building on the UK’s internationally recognised strengths in quantum computing research, the next phase of progress presents an exciting opportunity to foster deeper collaboration across disciplines. Shaping integrated quantum‑classical systems and creating foundations for transformative future technologies will require interdisciplinarity.

Applications are expected from cross‑cutting teams that bring together expertise across physics, computer science, engineering, mathematics, software, hardware or any other relevant disciplines, including areas of end‑user expertise. This may include stakeholders across academia, industry, policy, non‑departmental public bodies and third‑sector actors.

To support the development of new interdisciplinary partnerships and strengthen cross community engagement, we will be hosting a matchmaking workshop on 23 September 2026. Please email Quantumtechnologies@epsrc.ukri.org if you would like to register your interest.

EPSRC is delivering this activity as part of the UKRI Quantum Programme. The UKRI Quantum Programme is focused on the commercialisation, translation and adoption of Quantum Technologies. Therefore, we expect that projects funded through this programme’s activities will secure at least 1:1 leverage from public or private funding sources across its lifetime. The match funding is expected to be clearly evidenced and will be revised as part of the standard EPSRC monitoring and evaluation processes.

Please note, in the case of international project partner contributions to the project, a clear trajectory for enabling thriving UK Quantum Technologies research and development ecosystem will be expected.

End‑user involvement

We expect project teams to engage relevant end‑users to help inform requirements, validate approaches, and maximise impact. We recognise that the nature of end‑users will vary across projects and will not all be situated within industry. The end‑users should have an appropriate experience in the field the technology is being designed for. Real‑world data should be used to gauge the feasibility of improving existing systems or driving innovation through enabling workflows that are not possible at present.

Projects should target specific economic sectors that drive growth, or public services where there is a clear opportunity for improvement. End‑users can extend beyond industry to, for example, policy customers in government departments or arms‑length bodies, and third‑sector actors.

Examples of real‑world applications include, but are not limited to:

• healthcare: improved drug discovery techniques, providing personalised treatment to an individual based on genetic and environmental factors
• energy: manage and utilise the national energy infrastructure, accelerate path to autonomy, improve solar panels and batteries, cutting the energy demands of data centres
• finance: portfolio optimisation and risk assessment, fraud and money laundering detection, simulation of future market scenarios, investment automation, financial cybersecurity
• transport: optimised traffic routing and management, cargo loading and staff scheduling
• defence: improved drone technology, image processing, battlefield analysis and future security policy
• manufacturing: supply chain and logistics optimisation, materials discovery (chemistry), predictive maintenance, production scheduling and automated quality control

Role of National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC)

Collaboration with the NQCC is not mandatory. However, the NQCC is enthusiastic about supporting successful projects, and this may include:

• access to NQCC quantum hardware, including that provided through third‑party providers
• use of NQCC’s simulation platforms
• collaboration with NQCC technical staff
• workshops
• visits to the site

Duration

The duration of this award is up to three years.

Awards made via this funding opportunity will have a fixed start date of 1 June 2027. We expect you to apply for a realistic grant duration for meeting your objectives.

Funding available

The FEC of your project can be up to £3.75 million.

EPSRC will fund 80% of the FEC.

EPSRC is delivering this activity as part of the UKRI Quantum Programme. Therefore, we expect that projects funded through this programme’s activities will secure at least 1:1 leverage from public or private funding sources across its lifetime.

What we will fund

Resources may be used for research expenses including but not limited to:

• UKRI‑funded research facilities. Please note that if you plan to use a major facility in your research, such as those funded centrally by EPSRC or a European facility, contact the facility before applying to EPSRC to check if your proposed research is feasible, and obtain a technical assessment if the UKRI Funding Service marks it as required
• travel
• research technical support including research software engineers, data scientists and postdoctoral research assistants
• other standard expenses
• consumables and smaller items of equipment individually costing less than £25,000

Resources may also be used for activities that initiate, grow, and maintain collaborations with stakeholders (for example academia, business, government, third sector) such as:

• secondments
• staff exchanges
• regular travel

What we will not fund

Purchase of equipment over £25,000 in value (including VAT) is not permitted.

Supporting skills and talent

We encourage you to follow the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the Technician Commitment.

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I)

UKRI is committed in ensuring that effective international collaboration in research and innovation takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks. Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) is a UKRI work programme designed to help protect all those working in our thriving and collaborative international sector by enabling partnerships to be as open as possible, and as secure as necessary. Our TR&I Principles set out UKRI’s expectations of organisations funded by UKRI in relation to due diligence for international collaboration.

As such, applicants for UKRI funding may be asked to demonstrate how their proposed projects will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help proportionately reduce these risks.

See further guidance and information about TR&I, including where applicants can find additional support.

How to apply

We are running this funding opportunity on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service so please ensure that your organisation is registered. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je‑S) system.

The project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application.

Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI.

To apply

1. Confirm you are the project lead.
2. Sign in or create a Funding Service account. To create an account, select your organisation, verify your email address, and set a password.
3. Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers. If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page.
4. Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read‑only’ view before sending to your research office.
5. Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.
6. Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.

Please be aware that research office and finance teams undertake checks on hosting arrangements and financial eligibility. The ultimate responsibility for ensuring compliance with all opportunity requirements lies with the applicant.

Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.

When including images, you must:

• provide a descriptive caption or legend for each image immediately underneath it in the text box (this must be outside the image and counts towards your word limit)
• insert each new image onto a new line
• use files smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format

Images should only be used to convey important visual information that cannot easily be put into words. The following are not permitted, and your application will be rejected if you include:

• sentences or paragraphs of text
• tables
• excessive quantities of images

A few words are permitted where the image would lack clarity without the contextual words, such as a diagram, where text labels are required for an axis or graph column.

For more guidance on the Funding Service, see:

• how applicants use the Funding Service
• how research offices use the Funding Service
• how reviewers use the Funding Service

References

References should be included within the word count of the appropriate question section. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application.

Hyperlinks can be used in reference information. When including references, you should consider how your references will be viewed and used by the assessors, ensuring that:

• references are easily identifiable by the assessors
• references are formatted as appropriate to your research
• persistent identifiers are used where possible

General use of hyperlinks

Applications should be self‑contained. You should only use hyperlinks to link directly to reference information. You must not include links to web resources to extend your application. Assessors are not required to access links to conduct assessment or recommend a funding decision.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI)

Use of generative AI tools to prepare funding applications is permitted, however, caution should be applied.

For more information see our policy on the use of generative AI in application and assessment.

Deadline

EPSRC must receive your application by 3 November 2026 at 4:00pm UK time.

You will not be able to apply after this time.

Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines.

Following the submission of your application to this funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and submitted applications will not be amended. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.

If an application is withdrawn prior to peer review or office rejected due to substantive errors in the application, it cannot be resubmitted to the funding opportunity.

Personal data

Processing personal data

EPSRC, as part of UKRI, will need to collect some personal information to manage your Funding Service account and the registration of your funding applications.

We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our privacy notice.

Sensitive information

If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email TFSchangeEPSRC@epsrc.ukri.org

Include in the subject line: [the funding opportunity title; sensitive information; your Funding Service application number].

Typical examples of confidential information include:

• individual is unavailable until a certain date (for example due to parental leave)
• declaration of interest
• additional information about eligibility to apply that would not be appropriately shared in the ‘Applicant and team capability’ section
• conflict of interest for UKRI to consider in reviewer or panel participant selection
• the application is an invited resubmission

For information about how UKRI handles personal data, read UKRI’s privacy notice.

Institutional matched funding

There is no requirement for matched funding from the institutions hosting the project lead, project co‑leads or other staff employed on the application, beyond the standard 20% FEC. Expert reviewers and panels assessing UKRI funding applications must not consider levels of institutional matched funding as a factor on which to base recommendations.

This policy does not remove the need for support from host organisations who must provide the necessary research environment and infrastructure for award‑specific activities funded by UKRI. For example, research facilities, training and development of staff.

Publication of outcomes

EPSRC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at EPSRC Funding Applications Outcomes.

If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research.

Summary

Word limit: 550

In plain English, provide a summary we can use to identify the most suitable experts to assess your application.

We usually make this summary publicly available on external‑facing websites, therefore do not include any confidential or sensitive information. Make it suitable for a variety of readers, for example:

• opinion‑formers
• policymakers
• the public
• the wider research community

Guidance for writing a summary

Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of:

• the role of AI/HPC/QC integration
• the practical use case and real‑world problem the project will address
• how the project supports Mission 1 statements
• the benefits of AI/HPC/QC integration relative to QC approach

Core team

List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following:

• project lead (PL)
• project co‑lead (UK) (PcL)
• specialist
• grant manager
• professional enabling staff
• research and innovation associate
• technician
• visiting researcher
• researcher co‑lead (RcL)

Only list one individual as project lead.

UKRI has introduced a new addition to the ‘Specialist’ role type. Public contributors such as people with lived experience can now be added to an application.

Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications.

Application questions

Vision and Approach

Create a document that includes your responses to all criteria. The document should not be more than six sides of A4, single spaced in paper in 11‑point Arial (or equivalent sans serif font) with margins of at least 2cm. You may include images, graphs, tables. You can have an additional page for a diagrammatic workplan.

For the file name, use the unique Funding Service number the system gives you when you create an application, followed by the words ‘Vision and Approach’.

Save this document as a single PDF file, no bigger than 8MB. Unless specifically requested, please do not include any sensitive personal data within the attachment.

If the attachment does not meet these requirements, the application will be rejected.

The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply.

What are you hoping to achieve with and how will you deliver your proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

For the Vision, explain how your proposed work:

• is of excellent quality and importance within or beyond the field(s) or area(s)
• has the potential to advance current understanding, generates new knowledge, thinking or discovery within or beyond the field or area
• is timely given current trends, context and needs
• impacts world‑leading research, society, the economy or the environment
• will make significant progress towards the Quantum Mission 1 and case for convergence as outlined in the ‘Scope’ section

For the Approach, explain how you have designed your work so that it:

• is effective and appropriate to achieve your objectives
• is feasible, and comprehensively identifies any risks to delivery and how they will be managed
• if applicable, uses a clear and transparent methodology
• if applicable, summarises the previous work and describes how this will be built upon and progressed
• will maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts
• describes how your, and if applicable your team’s, research environment (in terms of the place, and relevance to the project) will contribute to the success of the work
• operates within the current industry led quantum computing landscape, recognising the primary customers, end‑users and technology integrators
• shows how access to critical computing resources will be secured and managed, including contingency arrangements

References may be included within this section.

Applicant and team capability to deliver

Word limit: 1,650

Why are you the right individual or team to successfully deliver the proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Evidence of how you, and if relevant your team, have:

• the relevant experience (appropriate to career stage) to deliver the proposed work
• the right balance of skills and expertise to cover the proposed work
• the appropriate leadership and management skills to deliver the work and your approach to develop others
• contributed to developing a positive research environment and wider community

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

The word count for this section is 1,650 words: 1,150 words to be used for Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) modules (including references) and, if necessary, a further 500 words for Additions.

Use the R4RI format to showcase the range of relevant skills you and, if relevant, your team (project and project co‑leads, researchers, technicians, specialists, partners and so on) have and how this will help deliver the proposed work. You can include individuals’ specific achievements but only choose past contributions that best evidence their ability to deliver this work.

Complete this section using the R4RI module headings listed. Use each heading once and include a response for the whole team, see the UKRI guidance on R4RI. You should consider how to balance your answer, and emphasise where appropriate the key skills each team member brings:

• contributions to the generation of new ideas, tools, methodologies, or knowledge
• the development of others and maintenance of effective working relationships
• contributions to the wider research and innovation community
• contributions to broader research