Highlights
- Quantum sensing is a proven technology that, by relying on physical constants, remains continuously calibrated and can measure at the atomic level.
- According to industry representatives, the sensors have reached a maturity enabling pilot studies; most of the remaining obstacles relate to commercialization and adaptation.
- In the value chain, half of the players focus on components while most new investment is directed toward hardware, application, and service development.
- The technology consists of a four-layer architecture; diamond-based sensors make possible measurements that are impossible with conventional sensors.
- In organizational readiness, the priority is identifying use cases and the cost-benefit analysis, and investing in usability design.
Quantum sensing, as a proven technology that enables sensors to collect data at the atomic level, has a wide field of application ranging from medical devices to navigation and quality control. Drawing primarily on the relevant McKinsey report, the report addresses the advantages the technology offers, its sectoral value, and the value-chain structure of the ecosystem. The fact that quantum sensors rely on physical constants enables them to remain continuously calibrated and to measure quantities impossible with conventional sensors — such as magnetic fields, gravity, and temperature — at the atomic level. Assessments by representatives of companies such as Qnami, SandboxAQ, and QuantumDiamonds reveal that the sensors have reached maturity levels that will enable pilot studies, and that most of the remaining obstacles relate to commercialization and adaptation. On the value-chain side, a structure stands out in which half of the players focus on components, while the majority of new investment is directed toward hardware, application, and service development; it is noted that most of the revenue in the ecosystem currently comes not from commercialized products but from components and joint research projects. It is emphasized that the technology consists of a four-layer architecture (component, quantum sensing system, orchestration, and application and services), and that measurements impossible with conventional sensors — such as detecting magnetic fields at the internal temperature of a fusion reactor — can become possible with diamond-based quantum sensors. Organizations first identifying their use cases and performing a cost-benefit analysis, and investing in usability design for non-expert users, are regarded as the prominent steps for readiness for the technology.