DRDO Partners With Zero mK India on 20 mK Quantum Refrigerator

Insider Brief

• India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has signed a Technology Development Fund agreement with Zero mK India to develop an indigenous 20 mK dilution refrigerator for quantum applications.
• The project is the first high-value deep-tech agreement under the Technology Development Fund, which has a Rs 500 crore allocation approved for deep-tech and advanced technology projects.
• The refrigerator project is intended to strengthen India’s domestic capabilities in quantum technology and cryogenics while reducing reliance on imported cryogenic equipment.

India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has entered its first high-value deep-tech project agreement under the Technology Development Fund scheme, partnering with start-up Zero mK India Private Limited to build an indigenous 20 mK dilution refrigerator for quantum applications, India Blooms reported.

The agreement was signed in New Delhi by the Director of the Technology Development Fund and representatives from Zero mK India, a company based in Alwar, Rajasthan. It marks the first high-value deal drawn from the Rs 500 crore fund that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved to back deep-tech and advanced technology projects.

Dilution refrigerators are cryogenic systems built to reach extremely low temperatures in the millikelvin range, conditions that are necessary for operating and testing several quantum computing platforms and related quantum technologies.

Developing a 20 mK-class refrigerator domestically supports the goals of the National Quantum Mission and is expected to build India’s capabilities in quantum technology, advanced cryogenics, and other strategic technology areas. The project is also intended to cut India’s reliance on imported cryogenic equipment and grow the country’s domestic quantum technology sector.

Official Reactions

Rajnath Singh congratulated DRDO, industry participants, and other stakeholders involved in the project, saying he expects the partnership to set a meaningful precedent for future collaborations between DRDO and industry in emerging technology fields, the source reported.

Defence Secretary and Secretary of the Department of Defence R&D, and DRDO Chairman, Rajesh Kumar Singh, also offered congratulations to the teams involved and wished them success in meeting the project’s goals.

The signing ceremony was attended by the Director General of Micro Electronic Devices & Computational System and Cyber Security, the Director General of Technology Management, the Director of the Solid State Physics Laboratory, and other stakeholders, India Blooms reported. The project will be monitored, mentored, and supported by the Director, Solid State Physics Laboratory (SSPL), and his team.