Research and Implications of Strategic Landscapes of Metrology for Quantum in Major Developed Countries

There is an intense global competition on deploying quantum industries, with metrology playing a crucial role in supporting the advancement of quantum technologies. This paper focuses on the national metrology institutes (NMIs) of the U.S., the UK, Germany and Japan, as well as European metrology organization—EURAMET and examines their strategic planning in metrology for quantum and mechanisms of commercialization of quantum technologies supported by metrology. Through literature review and case analysis, the study investigates their quantum strategies and the role of metrology in supporting quantum industry. The study shows that the mentioned countries and region has emphasized the crucial role of NMIs through legislation, national and regional quantum programmes with consistent funding, and cross-disciplinary collaboration institutes, to promote the quantum research from laboratory to market. These cases reveal the significance of NMIs in promoting standardization of quantum technologies, measurement accuracy and testing and commercialization of quantum technologies for building quantum ecosystems. The paper concludes with recommendations for China: integrating the national metrology institute into the top-level design of quantum technology development, building a industry-academia-research quantum ecosystem supported by metrology and establishing a national interdisciplinary quantum metrology research center, actively engaging in multilateral frameworks such as BIPM Quantum Forum and NMI-Q and exploring to build international quantum metrology cooperation network with countries of “Belt and Road Initiative”, to address the competitive international landscape and provide a solid foundation for the innovative development of quantum technology in China.