At first glance, perhaps very little – yet that is what makes this collaboration worth exploring.
Together with the Scottish Alliance for Food (SCAF), the Quantum ARC is exploring what happens when two seemingly distant fields, food and quantum, are brought into conversation. The result is a growing interdisciplinary community, new ways of thinking, and a set of early-stage research projects that could open up entirely new possibilities for sustainable food systems.
Prof Emilie Combet, SCAF Director, remarks: “We are fortunate that the Scottish Funding Council’s vision, when investing in our Alliances for Research Challenges, was to bridge fields and sectors. This has been instrumental in enabling SCAF to step off the beaten track and launch ventures with a difference, such as this collaboration. Food represents a key societal grand challenge, with deep links and implications for health, the environment, equity, culture, and the economy. SCAF believes there is a world of opportunities for applying quantum technologies to food and nutrition.”
Initiating a conversation
The collaboration began with the question “What quantum technologies could be used to innovate food and nutrition?”
In October 2025, the two Alliances hosted an introductory workshop to explore this idea. The event brought together researchers from across quantum technologies and food research, two communities that previously had limited opportunity to interact.
Through a series of presentations and discussions, participants were introduced to some key areas of quantum, including computing, imaging, and sensing. From the food and nutrition perspective, the challenges and barriers were discussed, ranging from real-time monitoring of biological processes, such as fermentation and plant growth, to tracing food through complex supply chains. What emerged was an initial idea of the potential opportunities (e.g., non-destructive measurement of compounds) and limits (e.g. the current cost and capabilities of quantum computing relative to classical computing), highlighting how quantum approaches might improve food systems and overcome barriers in new ways.
Dr Ashley Lyons, Quantum ARC co-lead said: “The workshop really embodied one of the key aims for the Quantum ARC: bringing together new communities where quantum technologies can be a real benefit but there’s a substantial translational barrier in the way. It was incredibly informative to hear about some of the challenges the SCAF community face and we could tell on the day that it got ideas flowing, exactly as we were hoping. I’m excited to see how these ideas transform into new impactful research areas, definitely more on the way, watch this space.”
From conversation to collaboration: three novel research projects funded
Building on the momentum of the workshop, the two alliances co-funded three pump-priming research projects. These six-month projects, running from March to September 2026, bring together 21 researchers across 16 disciplines and 11 institutions.
Each project explores a different aspect of the quantum-food interface, from public understanding to technological innovation:
Translating Quantum Food Futures (TQ-FOODS): Responsible Innovation and Cross-cultural Public Understanding of Quantum Technologies in Food Systems
One of the key barriers to innovation is not just technological, but conceptual. Quantum technologies remain difficult to grasp outside specialist circles, which can limit their adoption and integration into new domains such as food systems. This project places Arts and Humanities at its centre, aiming to develop a framework for translating quantum concepts into culturally and operationally meaningful forms that both food system and quantum technology stakeholders can understand and action. By doing so, the team hopes to support more inclusive and responsible innovation in future quantum-enabled food systems. The first two of three planned workshops are currently in development – keep an eye on our events page for more details.
Exploring quantum sensing and imaging for food production systems: Consortium building and proof of concept
Quantum sensing and imaging technologies have the potential to allow us to “see the unseen”, for example, by detecting extremely weak signals. Applications can include remote sensing of gases and enhanced imaging in turbid media, such as contaminated water. In the context of food production, this could open the door to monitoring systems that are difficult to observe. This project explores these possibilities in two food production systems: aquaculture and vertical growing in controlled environments. As a preface to two workshops designed to develop collaborative projects and identify pilot experiments, the team has launched a primer seminar series to provide high-level overviews of quantum technologies and the food production systems. Register here to take part.
Quantum sensors for trace detection of nutrients and agrochemicals
This proof-of-principle project explores a new way to monitor nutrients and chemicals in crops and the environment using cutting-edge quantum technology. The goal is to develop sensors that can detect extremely small amounts of chemicals, such as fertilisers, micronutrients, and pesticide residues, quickly and accurately, without the need for expensive laboratory tests.
Looking ahead
While these projects are just beginning, they represent an important first step in building a new interdisciplinary research space. By bringing together expertise from quantum technologies, physics, food systems, food security, plant science, arts and humanities, and beyond, these collaborations are not only exploring new technical applications but also rethinking how different fields can work together to address complex, real-world challenges.
We are grateful to the Scottish Funding Council for supporting these novel collaborations and look forward to sharing updates on the emerging quantum-food interface as the projects progress over the coming months.
Project details:
Translating Quantum Food Futures (TQ-FOODS): Responsible Innovation and Cross-cultural Public Understanding of Quantum Technologies in Food Systems is led by Dr Saihong Li, University of Stirling, in collaboration with Prof Emilie Combet (University of Glasgow), Dr Oliver Thomson Brown (University of Edinburgh), Dr Jen Clarke (Robert Gordon University), Dr Jack Brennan (University of Glasgow), Dr Desiree Coral (Robert Gordon University), Dr Laura Haag (University of Glasgow), Prof Rachel Norman (University of Stirling), Dr Mercedes Arguello Casteleiro (SGAI, The Chartered Institute for IT (BCS)/University of Southampton), Dr Richard Newton (University of Stirling), Dr Claire Perier (University of Edinburgh), Dr Andrea Ciribuco (University of Galway, Ireland), Dr Mausam Budhathoki (University of Copenhagen) and Dr Susita Pandey (University of Copenhagen)
Exploring quantum sensing and imaging for food production systems: Consortium building and proof of concept is led by Prof Rachel Norman, University of Stirling, in collaboration with Mr Ife Ejidike (Heriot-Watt University), Dr Brian Patton (University of Strathclyde) and Assistant Prof Michael Tanner (Heriot-Watt University)
Quantum sensors for trace detection of nutrients and agrochemicals is led by Prof Graham Turnbull, University of St Andrews, in collaboration with Dr Sagarika Mishra (University of St Andrews) and Ms Martina Picmanova (James Hutton Institute)
Quantum-alliance@glasgow.ac.uk 