the number of applications for developments in the field of quantum technologies in the Russian Federation decreased by 40%

The number of applications for developments in the field of quantum technologies in Russia has decreased by more than 40% over the year, calculated in Dsight and the Voskhod investment fund. The development of quantum communications and computing is subsidized by the state within the framework of federal projects. But the shortage of equipment aggravated due to sanctions, as well as increased secrecy, had a negative impact on the patent activity of specialized companies and universities, experts say.

“Kommersant” got acquainted with the study of the analytical company Dsight and the Voskhod investment fund, dedicated to patent activity in the field of quantum technologies. It follows from it that in 2022 the number of applications for inventions in the field of quantum technologies (quantum communications, sensors and computing) in Russia decreased for the first time since 2019: 16 applications were filed against 28 in 2021. In 2022, the most patent applications – 12 pieces – were filed in the field of quantum communications.

Among the organizations that submitted applications in Russia, the representative office of the Japanese Canon is in the lead. The second place is occupied by ITMO University (St. Petersburg), the Russian “KuRate” (QRate), which introduces quantum communications into the infrastructure of Russian companies, closes the top three.

Before the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, Russia was one of the world leaders in the number of developments in the field of quantum, but now 62% of patent applications come from the United States and China. Foreign leaders in the development of quantum technologies are Google and Microsoft, IBM and Intel (USA), as well as D-Wave Systems (Canada) and Origin Quantum (China). In total, analysts specify, in 2022, 4,000 patent applications were filed and 732 patents were issued.

Now, Kommersant was told in Dsight, eight issued patents on quantum technologies to Russian inventors have been published in the information databases for 2023, which is 50% of their number for 2022. Analysts expect that by the end of the year, the number of applications will remain approximately at the level of 2022. “Foreign applicants have already left Russia (Canon), but domestic researchers are receiving support and continue to develop,” they note.

Other experts confirm the findings of the study. Over the year, the number of applications for inventions in the field of quantum technologies in Russia has decreased by 20%, says Ivan Iorsh, chief researcher at the ITMO Faculty of Physics. Among the factors that have a negative impact on the development of the industry, he named the aggravated problems with imported equipment, especially from Europe and the USA. Equipment for working with quantum areas, such as cryogenics, has always been expensive and delivered to Russia for a long time, and now the situation has worsened, Ivan Iorsh noted.

As part of the fifth package of EU anti-Russian sanctions, adopted in April 2022, a ban was introduced on the export of quantum computers, high-tech electronics and software to the country (see Kommersant dated April 4).

The decrease in the number of patented projects is due to increased secrecy due to political tensions, other experts add. Many projects related to quantum technologies are related to security issues, therefore they have become less public, explains Sergey Kulik, scientific director of the Quantum Technologies NTI Competence Center based at Moscow State University. “In the current environment, the public dissemination of information may result in sanctions restrictions for companies and universities,” he says.

At the same time, Aleksey Fedorov, head of the Laboratory of Quantum Information Technologies at MISiS, argues that cooperation in the field of quantum technologies is maintained, including with Western Europe and North America, “if partners do not impose restrictions on scientific interaction.” Also, Mr. Fedorov notes, cooperation within the BRICS framework has recently intensified, especially with scientific groups in China and India.

Tatyana Isakova, Vadim Krasnikov