Deep Tech Briefing #30: 🌍 NATO Backs Quantum Tech for GPS Security; 🚗 EV Innovation Drives Emerging Markets; 🌊 Magnesium from Seawater; ⚛️ MOU for Nuclear Microreactors and more...
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In today’s edition
NATO invests in quantum technology to strengthen GPS security
A full-stack Battery-as-a-Service startup drives innovation in EVs for emerging markets
Breakthrough in extracting magnesium metal from seawater
Nuclear microreactors gain traction with a key U.S. partnership
New DAC technology aims to lower costs in carbon removal
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🔸NATO’s Strategic Push Into Quantum Tech: Reshaping the PNT Market Amid Rising Global GPS Vulnerabilities
Quantum technology has evolved from theoretical exploration to practical application, increasingly affecting areas where precision and reliability are crucial. One emerging use case is quantum sensing—a field advancing rapidly to address vulnerabilities in global positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) systems, which have faced increasing challenges in recent years.
PNT systems are fundamental to sectors like telecommunications, finance, and defense, but GPS-based systems have shown particular weaknesses. Between 2018 and 2021, reports of GPS interference rose by 2,000%, revealing the limitations of current infrastructure. As reliance on GPS grows, quantum sensing technologies are emerging as potential solutions to enhance the resilience and accuracy of PNT systems.
In this context, the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) recently announced a €5 million ($5.58 million) seed investment into Aquark Technologies, a UK-based company focused on cold atom quantum sensing technology. This marks NATO’s first direct investment in quantum technology, reflecting the organization’s interest in exploring advanced solutions for PNT challenges.
Aquark Technologies, founded by Andrei Dragomir and Alexander Jantzen, aims to make quantum innovations scalable and accessible for a variety of applications. The company’s expertise spans vacuum technology, microfabrication, and laser-cooling, areas critical for improving the size, weight, power efficiency, and cost of quantum devices. These advances make the sensors more mobile and durable, suitable for deployment in challenging environments such as underwater or aerospace settings.
Aquark’s cold atom quantum sensors are designed to