Kent Nickerson, senior engineer at the Quantum Valley Ideas Lab, shows the lab’s the microwave anechoic chamber to Vic Fedeli, the Ontario minister of economic development, on Tuesday.
Kent Nickerson, senior engineer at the Quantum Valley Ideas Lab, shows the lab’s the microwave anechoic chamber to Vic Fedeli, the Ontario minister of economic development, on Tuesday.
The province invested millions Tuesday in quantum technology that can quickly fine-tune antennas in smartphones, vehicles, drones, cell towers and aircraft.
Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s minister of economic development, trade and job creation, visited Quantum Valley Ideas Lab in the University of Waterloo research and technology park to announce up to $14.9 million in funding.
Fedeli said the grant is the last of the money from the $107 million Critical Technology Initiative Fund that invested in artificial intelligence, 5G networks, robotics, blockchain and cybersecurity research around the province.
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“That fund was to address real-world problems, and advance commercialization,” Fedeli said.
Quantum technologies have the potential to generate $1.2 trillion during the next decade in computing, sensing and communications, he said.
The funds announced Tuesday will pay for internships for graduate students, and help take the technology from the lab to the marketplace.
“Here in Ontario we are very good at research, but when it comes to commercialization we are behind the mark,” said Fedeli.
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Quantum Valley Ideas Lab is part of Mike Lazaridis’ Quantum Valley Investments — a non-profit incubator and accelerator for startups working in quantum technology. The Ideas Lab is a 70,000-square-foot research building on Wes Graham Way equipped with everything needed for the design and development of quantum devices.
A commercial-ready prototype of the new radio frequency measurement device, which can quickly and accurately calibrate antennas, will be the first commercial product to come out of the lab. The tech will be transitioned to the lab’s first startup, WaveRyde Instruments.
“These investments are a crucial step in driving commercialization and adoption of quantum technology,” said Nick Werstiuk, CEO at Quantum Valley Ideas Lab.
Quantum physics is all about using the properties and characteristics of tiny atomic particles such as electrons, photons, neutrons and the like to process information, take highly accurate measurements or power the next generation of supercomputers.
The funding announcement Tuesday signalled the start of commercializing the tech coming out of the Quantum Valley Ideas Lab.
“This is going to be the launch pad of what we hope will be commercialized products,” said Fedeli. “It needs to start here.”
Over the past 24 years more than $750 million in public and private funds has been invested to pursue quantum physics in this region. About half that money came from Lazaridis’ personal fortune, the other half from federal and provincial governments.
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Significant advances in quantum sensors and quantum cryptography have been made, but no quantum computers or quantum simulators have yet emerged from the labs on and around the UW campus.
Terry Pender is a Waterloo Region-based general assignment
reporter for The Record. Reach him via email: tpender@therecord.com
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