IBM and the UK government will spend £210 million over the next five years on a facility for quantum computing and AI.

The UK Government’s Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and IBM (NYSE: IBM) will establish a facility in the UK for quantum computing and machine learning. Titled the Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation (HNCDI), it is being created at the Daresbury Laboratory near Halton in Cheshire. (EE News Europe)

The Government has agreed to invest £172 million through UK Research and Innovation over five years. This will be met with a £38 million in-kind contribution from IBM.

Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation (HNCDI)

The proposed high technology center will support the application of AI and quantum computing to such tasks as optimizing complex logistics for:

• picking and packing orders in large warehouses for supermarkets;
• traffic routing;
• energy distribution;
• improving design and manufacturing processes

The HNCDI research will also span sectors including materials, life sciences, environment, and manufacturing.

The center will create vacancies for an additional 60 scientists, plus further interns and students gaining hands-on experience.

Science Minister, Amanda Solloway, said in a statement: “Artificial intelligence and quantum computing have the potential to revolutionize everything from the way we travel to the way we shop. They are exactly the kind of fields I want the UK to be leading in, and this new center in the North West is a big step towards that. Thanks to this fantastic new partnership with IBM, British businesses will have access to the kind of infrastructure and expertise that will help them boost innovation and grow the economy – essential as we build back better from the pandemic.”​

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Image Credit: Flickr (STFC)