Quantum News Nexus

The space market is getting to be a really interesting one for quantum technologies, with opportunities for quantum computing, networking, sensing, and security all developing rapidly at the same time. One of the companies in the quantum sensing field just earned a $1 million deal.

SBQuantum, a Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, firm developing quantum diamond magnetometers capable of providing accurate readings from space, has landed its second contract with the European Space Agency (ESA), one of the world’s leading space agencies.

The 21-month, almost $1 million deal (more than €850 million) is funded through ESA’s FutureEO Programme, and calls for SBQuantum to deliver a new prototype of its quantum magnetometer sensor, optimized for Earth Observation (EO) missions in space. 

SBQuantum’s magnetometers have been tested by NASA, the US Department of Defense, and the Canadian Space Agency, among others. SBQuantum said in a press release that a new, upgraded version of the device developed for the ESA “will remain the same size and weight while delivering a number of enhanced capabilities including improved sensitivity (sub 100 Picotesla), higher bandwidth (400 Hz) and greater accuracy (200 Picotesla) as required by ESA for advanced EO missions.”

This contract follows an earlier contract announced in the summer of 2024 thats saw SBQuantum provide a magnetometer design to ESA. It also follows the company’s participation in the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s‘MagQuest Challenge, which was announced in 2023 and in which SBQuantum is one of three finalists. The winner is set to have its technology launched into space, and be put to work monitoring Earth’s magnetic field.

“Securing this second contract with ESA is the latest in a series of strong signals from the market indicating the vast potential our quantum magnetometers offer as a sensor deployed in space,” said SBQuantum CEO and Founder David Roy-Guay. “The Earth and its ecosystem are evolving, and humankind needs to better monitor changes in ocean currents and temperatures, among many other transformations, so we can fully understand them, prepare and adapt. A byproduct of demonstrating space readiness is that this doubles as a strong validation of terrestrial readiness for our hardware. By combining this highly accurate sensor with advanced interpretation algorithms, our Magnetic Intelligence product will also unlock novel security applications for an increasingly uncertain world. Our mission is to remain at the cutting edge of applied quantum sensing.”

Aaron Strangfeld, Quantum & Emerging Sensing Technologies Engineer at ESA, added in a statement provided by SBQuantum,  “Our earlier research shows that diamond magnetometers may meet the performance needed for Earth observation. Now we need to prove that building such an instrument is possible.”

SBQuantum is not the only quantum sensing company that has made news recently. Q-CTRL last month announced the hiring of Aaron Canciani, former US Air Force Navigation Engineer and a former key engineer with defense giant Leidos, as its new Principal Scientist.

Image: Quantum magnetometer (Source: SBQuantum)

Quantum News Nexus is a new site from freelance writer and editor Dan O’Shea that covers quantum computing, quantum sensing, quantum networking, quantum-safe security, and more. You can find him on X @QuantumNewsGuy and doshea14@gmail.com.