New Zealand designs photonic & quantum growth engine

New Zealand's public research system has moved a photonic and quantum technology initiative into its design phase. The work sits within the planned New Zealand Institute for Advanced Technology.

The initiative is being framed as a “growth engine” focused on sensing, quantum supply chain components and future computing. Details released by the organisations involved show the programme is intended to link domestic research strengths with overseas demand in areas including infrastructure monitoring, critical systems and advanced technology exports.

The design work comes as policymakers reshape New Zealand's science sector and consider the structure of new public research organisations. As part of that overhaul, the proposed photonic and quantum technologies platform is one of the areas under assessment for future support, although no investment commitment has yet been made.

Three areas have been identified for the design effort. The first centres on sensing technologies for monitoring infrastructure, transport, energy systems, maritime and space assets, and natural hazards. The second focuses on specialised components and enabling technologies for global quantum computing, communication and networking supply chains, drawing on photonics, cryogenics, superconducting devices and advanced materials. The third covers future computing, including software, algorithms and approaches that use resources more efficiently.

The move coincides with fresh market data from the Australian and New Zealand Optical Society, which found the Australasian photonic and quantum core components goods and services industry has expanded since 2023, though at a slower pace than the global market. Revenue rose from AUD $6 billion in 2023 to AUD $7.4 billion in 2025, while New Zealand's share reached AUD $1.8 billion, equivalent to NZD $2.18 billion, up from NZD $1.5 billion in 2023.

The report found the compound annual growth rate for the Australasian industry since 2019 now stands at 5.5%, compared with 2.8% in 2023. The global average is between 6% and 6.8%.

That gap has sharpened attention on whether New Zealand can turn its research base into commercial activity and secure a place in international supply chains. Backers of the sector argue that the country has research strengths in photonics and quantum science, but that policy support and industrial coordination have lagged behind some overseas markets.

Professor Frédérique Vanholsbeeck, Director of the Dodd-Walls Centre for Photonic and Quantum Technologies, commented on the direction of travel in the sector. “New Zealand has been comparatively slow to prioritise the science, but the decision by NZIAT to start designing what a photonics and quantum technologies platform could look like is positive,” Vanholsbeeck said.

Space projects

Alongside the policy work, several related programmes in New Zealand are advancing in areas that overlap with photonics, sensing and communications. One of the largest is Tuwhiri, a NZD $10 million Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Endeavour-funded programme led by Professor Harald Schwefel at the University of Otago.

The project is developing a space-based atmospheric monitoring system aimed at tracking ozone levels above Antarctica. It combines atmospheric science, photonics and space engineering, with plans to place a photonic radiometer on a CubeSat by 2030. At the centre of the instrument is a sensor that converts radio signals into the optical domain for ozone measurement.

Another project links New Zealand to an Australasian Optical Ground Station Network. Associate Professor Nick Rattenbury at the University of Auckland is leading the New Zealand contribution, working with the University of Western Australia, the Australian National University and Australia's Defence Science and Technology Group.

Supported by Catalyst funding, the effort is moving beyond feasibility work towards coordinated operation. Taiaho Observatory near Auckland is providing a New Zealand node, while the wider programme is examining how optical ground stations can operate reliably as a network through automation, interoperability, common standards, weather-based scheduling and multi-station handover.

Industry alignment

The broader backdrop includes increased defence and dual-use interest in advanced technologies across the region. Participants in Australia's defence innovation discussions have highlighted long-range systems, autonomous platforms and undersea applications, with interoperability emerging as a recurring theme for partners including New Zealand.

For New Zealand, that creates another route by which photonics and quantum research could move closer to procurement, communications infrastructure and other operational uses. Officials are also looking at how suppliers with civilian technologies might contribute to a more resilient advanced technology base.

The Dodd-Walls Centre has also been helping to build a wider industry network through Quantum and Photonics New Zealand, a body intended to bring together stakeholders in the field. That reflects a growing push to organise researchers, companies and public institutions around a sector that remains relatively small but is seeking clearer national coordination.

Several spin-out companies have emerged from the centre's activities, including Probentis, QBifrost and TwoPhold. Their development points to a commercial pipeline that supporters say could expand if public policy, capital and industry links become more consistent.

A final investment decision on the proposed photonic and quantum platform is expected after the design process concludes. The outcome is likely to shape how New Zealand positions itself in an industry where Australasian growth is improving but still trails the global rate.