Husic talks up quantum manufacturing opportunities

Industry minister Ed Husic and CSIRO have talked up the economic opportunities available from the quantum computing sector at a CSIRO quantum commercialisation forum in Sydney.

Husic told the forum 19 quantum‑related companies in Australia had received combined funding and investment of over $400 million in recent years, spanning hardware and software.

He made an impassioned call for Australia not to drop the wider industrial opportunities that quantum science presented as it had with the first computer revolution.

Husic said: “It absolutely burns me, when I just recall how there were five countries in the 1940s that built their own computer, and we were one of them and we just gave it all away.

“We didn’t pursue our ambitions, too constrained, and we didn’t go through to make sure that we could manufacture, develop growth at scale, and it is something, can I tell you, I’m utterly obsessed and focused about.”

Meanwhiel CSIRO revised its forecasts for the sector which it now expects will be worth $4.6 billion a year by 2040, employing as many as the oil and gas sectors.

By 2045 revenue in quantum computing, communications and sensing will be $6 billion with employment at 19,400.

Husic told the forum: “(Quantum) has the potential to transform industries, change the way we do business, provide more secure and improved customer experiences, provide high‑quality jobs.

“And I constantly emphasise that for Australia to continue to prosper, we need to be at the forefront of the development and adoption of new technologies.

“We need to be makers, not just consumers, of advanced technologies, and in quantum we have got the opportunity to be just that – makers.”

Husic said Australia was globally at the forefront of quantum technology R&D, contributing to breakthroughs for over two decades.

“International research institutions, investors, companies, consumers of quantum technology, (are) all seeking out Australian expertise.

“Our talent is behind many existing and emerging quantum applications.

“These include quantum random number generators for security and sensors for mining, signal engineering.”

Picture: Quantum Brilliance