Written evidence submitted by Delta g (DTS0001)

Company Background

This evidence is submitted on behalf of Delta g, which spun out from the University of Birmingham (UoB) and the Quantum Technology Hub for Sensors and timing in 2023, following a world first demonstration of their technology[1]. Their Mission is to leverage gravity to see the unseen – making proactive gravity data insights available to every industry globally.

The quantum technology (QT) startup is at the bleeding edge of deep tech, this means public funds have been of considerable importance during the early Technology Readiness Level (TRL) stages to provides a proof point for the product offering in advance of commercial readiness. Within UoB the technology offering was matured to TRL 4/5 supported by >£20m of public funding, during our pre-seed raise this enabled us to secure ~£1.5m of private investment alongside a £500k research grant. Together these lead to a £2.5m commercial contract with the Department for Transport, providing considerable commercial confidence with investors as we move to close a ~£4.5m seed investment round.

The Value of QT Gravity Gradiometry

Gravity is a one of the fundamental forces of the universe, arising simply from the presence of mass, making it impossible to jam or spoof. Despite its pervasive nature, gravity is rarely utilised due to its difficulty – and therefore expense - to measure[2]. QT gravity gradiometry provides an approach that inherently suppresses noise sources which limit current technology, the result is a technology with orders of magnitude greater sensitivity than the current market lead with significantly reduced acquisition time, providing better data cheaper.

Quantum technology has been identified as a cornerstone of the future UK economy, with the work towards gravity gradiometry highlighted as a key strength in of UK quantum[3]. Within the transport sector gravity gradiometry could save billions of pounds per year. Providing everything from better subsurface knowledge, preventing accidental strikes on buried utilities, to avoiding the millions of person days lost to exploratory roadworks[4].

Gravity gradiometry has a role to play far beyond locating buried infrastructure, it can even be used as an alternative to GPS. In this role it would mitigate, if not completely remove, the projected £5.4bn loss that would arise from a 5 day outage of GPS. It can also provide valuable insights for environmental monitoring, which is critical for a sustainable future[5].

Relationship with UK Government

Delta g’s technology originates from within the UK QT program, specifically the QT Hub for Sensors and Timing, and has an ongoing relationship with the newly launched Quantum Sensing, Imaging and Timing Hub. Most historic development has been funded by public bodies, such as EPSRC and Dstl. However, this was more than just financial support, through the QT Hubs a community was fostered enabling direct collaboration with stakeholders from across the value chain, fundamental scientist to technologists to policy makers.

Communities such as these are critical in establishing end-user need within deep tech, which leads to a market pull, vital to companies when approaching a new venture. Using input from the value chain to establish both performance and usability requirements enabled critical demos (e.g. B. Stray, et al) that transitioned technologies up the TRL scale. These communities provided a platform with technology developers, system manufacturers and end-users could communicate directly with policy makers, enabling a better understanding of the  evolving technology landscape, facilitating well informed and accurate policy. The “Future of the Subsurface” by the Government Office for Science, “Socio-Economic Impacts of Quantum Technologies in UK Transport” by the Department for Transport and the UN “Human Development Report 2023-2024” are a few recent examples of these outcomes.

In the difficult fundraising landscape, private equity is considerably easier to achieve when backed by some amount of public money. During all funding rounds, investors have pointed to recent public funding secured by Delta g as a considerable confidence boost in the technology, creating an ecosystem where public money moves private money. Additionally, deep tech ventures such as Delta g are developing high risk/high reward technologies, but when delivering a new solution to market there is considerable resistance to changing ways of working and modifying delivery workflows. Having a commercial contract with a public body, such as the Department for Transport, allows deep-tech companies to transition into higher technology readiness, bridging the so called “valley of death”, and build a product that is market ready.

The combined private/public funding landscape has enabled Delta g to accelerate to a A-model technology demonstrator at TRL5, where this device will be undertaking validation trials in Q1 2027. The £2.5m commercial contract with the Department for Transport has enabled a parallel development stream, actively responding to learnings on the A-model device and implementing into a B-model, which is will achieve TRL6 at launch moving to TRL7 upon proof-of-concept demonstration. This leads to a Production Candidate (CP) which will transition from TRL7 through TRL9 based on key technology milestones, with an ambitious product launch target of H1 2027. At all points in developing Delta g’s key technology a relationship with government has been a critical enabler, looking forward the target of the world’s first QT gravity gradiometer product as early will only be achieved in such an aggressive timescale through continued engagement and support from government.

Summary

Delta g is a spin-out company, with a highly disruptive technology, that would not have existed without government support of deep-tech. This support fostered interdisciplinary communities, enabling bi-directional benefit, building towards products that are truly useful to end-users whilst enabling policy holders and future customers to understand the landscape and shape the technology to their needs. Given the low appetite for risk in the private sector, ongoing government support for deep-tech new and existing ventures is critical to enable the considerable reward which accompanies the “high risk” technologies.