NSF and UKRI Commit $10 Million in Joint Funding for Molecular Quantum Information Science

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) have launched a joint $10 million (£7.4 million) research initiative supporting eight transatlantic research teams. Funded via $5 million from the NSF Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) and £3.7 million (~$5 million) from UKRI’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the program targets foundational chemistry research to manipulate quantum coherence, entanglement, and superposition within complex molecular architectures.

The initiative represents the second $10 million phase of joint NSF-EPSRC quantum chemistry funding, expanding upon initial allocations announced in 2025. Technical objectives focus on synthesizing custom molecular systems designed to preserve fragile quantum states against environmental decoherence (such as thermal noise), engineering molecular-scale spin qubits, and modeling quantum information transfer in complex chemical reactions. The collaborative framework directly fulfills international research partnership directives outlined in the June 2026 Executive Order on Ushering in the Next Frontier of Quantum Innovation.

In the U.S., the funding supports principal investigators across nine higher education institutions in nine states, including capacity-building awards under the NSF Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NSF EPSCoR). The program pairs international laboratory capabilities to accelerate the design of molecular hardware for quantum sensing, memory, and information processing.

Review the official announcement via the NSF MPS Update Portal here, examine our prior coverage of the Phase 1 NSF/UKRI $10 Million Quantum Chemistry Program here, and read our analysis of the U.S.-UK Technology Prosperity Deal and Bilateral Quantum Framework here.

September 16, 2026