Defence Trailblazer, QuantX Labs and Adelaide University have completed a collaborative research project that has delivered significant advances in optical clock technology and strengthened the pathway from university research to commercial, industry-ready solutions.
“Through this collaboration, QuantX has been able to directly integrate cutting-edge university research into our technology roadmap. The project has reduced technical risk, informed key design decisions and strengthened our ability to commercialise next-generation optical clocks for both terrestrial and space applications," Head of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing at QuantX, Sebastian Ng, said.
Building on approximately four years of collaboration between QuantX and academics at the Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS) at Adelaide University, the completed project has accelerated the transfer of research in precision timing from the laboratory to industry.
“Defence Trailblazer is proud of the impact achieved by QuantX and its academic partners over the course of this collaborative project,” Defence Trailblazer, General Manager – Technology Development & Acceleration, Margaret Law, highlighted.
“It exemplifies how Australian ventures and university spin-outs are emerging as world leaders in quantum technology.”
The project has enabled new optical clock technologies to be evaluated, matured and positioned for commercialisation.
Defence and civilian critical infrastructure, including telecommunications, energy networks and financial systems, depend on precise and stable timing to operate safely and effectively.
QuantX was established to help address the growing need for resilient timing and synchronisation solutions in environments where global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), such as GPS, are degraded, denied or spoofed. QuantX is working with its partners to evaluate resilient, alternate timing networks in the development of Tempo, its next-generation optical atomic clock.
A key outcome of the project was the development and demonstration of new optical clock techniques. Researchers have investigated alternative optical clock architectures and enabled technologies with the potential to deliver improvements in stability, a critical step toward next-generation timing systems.
This work has directly supported QuantX’s development of advanced quantum clocks, including future enhancements to its Tempo clock platform. The project has ensured that emerging optical clock technologies were assessed for performance, robustness and suitability for real-world deployment, bridging the gap between fundamental research and operational systems.
The project also delivered strong workforce and capability outcomes, including the successful contribution of Adelaide University PhD researcher Lachlan Pointon, whose work on novel optical clock techniques has expanded Australia’s expertise in precision timing.
“Development of the next version of portable optical atomic clock is vital to Australia’s defence industry and critical infrastructure,” Pointon stated. “With QuantX Labs as an industry partner, I have gained valuable insights into the challenges and work undertaken in the private sector. It’s made me a better researcher.”