Toyota commits up to $1 million a year to UChicago quantum research for mobility
A multi-year agreement launches five joint projects in quantum sensing, communication and materials at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering.
The University of Chicago and Toyota signed a multi-year research agreement on November 3 to develop quantum technologies for future mobility, sustainable transportation and secure vehicle systems 
uchicago.eduUniversity of Chicago Newsnews.uchicago.eduUChicago and Toyota signed a multi-year quantum research agreement on November 3; Toyota aims to provide up to $1 million per yearOpen source ↗
toyota.comToyota USA Newsroompressroom.toyota.comOpen source ↗. Toyota aims to provide up to $1 million per year, and the work will draw mainly on faculty at UChicago's Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) uchicago.eduUniversity of Chicago Newsnews.uchicago.eduUChicago and Toyota signed a multi-year quantum research agreement on November 3; Toyota aims to provide up to $1 million per yearOpen source ↗.
Five quantum research projects for vehicles
The collaboration starts with five joint projects covering quantum communication, sensing, materials discovery, theoretical modelling and prediction, and electronic properties uchicago.eduUniversity of Chicago Newsnews.uchicago.eduUChicago and Toyota signed a multi-year quantum research agreement on November 3; Toyota aims to provide up to $1 million per yearOpen source ↗. Toyota's release links the areas to practical goals: quantum sensing for environmental awareness, secure data communication and new materials for energy storage toyota.comToyota USA Newsroompressroom.toyota.comOpen source ↗.
The first phase will fund up to eight UChicago graduate students across theoretical and experimental labs, and two Toyota researchers are already working as visiting scientists in the groups of David Awschalom and Giulia Galli uchicago.eduUniversity of Chicago Newsnews.uchicago.eduUChicago and Toyota signed a multi-year quantum research agreement on November 3; Toyota aims to provide up to $1 million per yearOpen source ↗. A joint steering committee with members from UChicago and the Toyota Research Institute of North America will coordinate the first projects uchicago.eduUniversity of Chicago Newsnews.uchicago.eduUChicago and Toyota signed a multi-year quantum research agreement on November 3; Toyota aims to provide up to $1 million per yearOpen source ↗.
"By pairing academic discovery with industrial insights, we can accelerate the timeline," said Awschalom, director of the Chicago Quantum Institute and the Chicago Quantum Exchange uchicago.eduUniversity of Chicago Newsnews.uchicago.eduUChicago and Toyota signed a multi-year quantum research agreement on November 3; Toyota aims to provide up to $1 million per yearOpen source ↗. Jeff Makarewicz, Toyota's group vice president for advanced research, said the company gains "access to fundamental discoveries, advanced talent and new computational approaches" toyota.comToyota USA Newsroompressroom.toyota.comOpen source ↗.
What the UChicago–Toyota deal does and does not include
This is a research agreement, not a product programme: neither partner has published a timeline for results or milestones uchicago.eduUniversity of Chicago Newsnews.uchicago.eduUChicago and Toyota signed a multi-year quantum research agreement on November 3; Toyota aims to provide up to $1 million per yearOpen source ↗toyota.comToyota USA Newsroompressroom.toyota.comOpen source ↗. Quantum sensors and materials modelling are among the nearer-term uses of quantum science, which explains why automakers are funding university labs now rather than waiting for large quantum computers.
