From curiosity to capability: taking quantum beyond the lab

What happens when you take a delicate quantum device out of its controlled lab environment, pack it into a box, and drive it hundreds of miles to BT’s Adastral Park? For Dr Natalia Valencia Herrera and the team at Intertangle - a Heriot-Watt spin-out company - this first real-world test of our entanglement hardware became a moment of both validation and perspective.

A few weeks ago, our team packed a quantum device into a box and took it on the road. We were heading to BT’s Adastral Park, their leading research centre, to see how our prototype would perform outside the lab for the first time.

What we took to BT was a compact system that generates and measures pairs of entangled light particles — the essential building blocks of quantum connectivity. In simple terms, it lets us create and control the special kind of link between photons that’s not just secure, but also enables entirely new ways to transmit and process information.

In the lab, everything is carefully controlled, with vibration isolation, temperature monitoring, and precise alignment. But when you take that setup out of the lab, into an ordinary room without all the stabilisation we’re used to, and with people walking past, you quickly learn what “ready for deployment” really means. We expected to spend hours realigning everything after the van ride from Edinburgh. Instead, when we turned it on, it almost worked immediately. Seeing the signals appear on the screen so quickly was a real surprise, the good kind. It gave us confidence, but more importantly, perspective.

A Different Kind of Challenge

I’ve been a researcher in quantum photonics for over a decade, from my master’s and PhD to now leading Intertangle, a spinout project that’s turning academic research into technology ready for the real world. Most of that time was spent in the lab, learning how to control light at the most fundamental level. Now, my focus is different. It’s about understanding how to translate that research into technology that people can actually use.

That shift has changed how I think about progress. In research, success is about novelty and performance. In technology development, it’s about reliability, usability, and meeting a need. The trial at Adastral Park made that distinction clear: when you start thinking about how others will use your device, the questions, and the challenges, change.

Laying the groundwork for Quantum Networks

Intertangle is a spinout project based at Heriot-Watt University’s Institute of Photonics and Quantum Sciences in Edinburgh. Our team includes Dr Joseph Ho, who led the system trial with me, along with Professors Mehul Malik and Alessandro Fedrizzi, leading internationally recognised research groups in quantum photonics and communication. Together, we are developing new hardware platforms that will allow quantum devices to communicate reliably and at scale, using the same fibre networks that power today’s internet.

This quantum connectivity is possible through entanglement, and our aim is to make it practical. You can think of it as building the foundations others will use to construct quantum networks, much like how early networking infrastructure connected the first computers long before the internet became part of everyday life.

Devices that deliver entanglement connectivity already exist beyond the lab, but they are still early in capability and robustness. Our work focuses on bridging that gap — building systems that can bring real advantages over classical technology.

Quantum connectivity doesn’t attract the same headlines as quantum computing, but it’s what will allow processors, sensors, and communication systems to work together and scale. Just as AI and electric vehicles needed infrastructure before they could reshape the world, quantum technologies need that connective layer. That’s where we’re contributing.

Collaboration and Perspective

The Adastral Park demo wasn’t just about testing a prototype; it was about starting a conversation. The people who came to see it included optical network engineers, specialists in integration and operations, and even those shaping commercial strategy. Their questions weren’t about the physics, but about understanding what we were building, how it could fit into existing infrastructure, and how it might help tackle challenges like distance, noise, and security.

Those discussions gave us a valuable perspective. They helped us see which parts of our technology were intuitive, which needed clearer communication, and how our work aligns with the priorities of an industry that will ultimately use it. It wasn’t just about showing what we could do, but about learning how to make it matter.

Over the past year and a half, I’ve also engaged with many people across the sector — from technology developers, large and small, to potential customers, government, and investors. It’s been inspiring to see how many teams are contributing to the same mission: making quantum hardware useful, deployable, and scalable. That perspective motivates us to keep building an enterprise that will take our cutting-edge work in entanglement and photonic control from the lab to the market.

Looking Ahead

This demonstration with BT was made possible through the Photonic and Quantum Accelerator, an EPSRC Impact Accelerator programme, and our earlier commercial engagement work has been supported by Innovate UK and Scottish Enterprise. These initiatives have helped us shape our business case and identify where our technology can make the greatest impact.

Intertangle’s next stage is supported by UK Research and Innovation’s Proof of Concept Programme, which will help us advance and validate our prototype, continue aligning it with industry needs, and refine our route to market as we prepare to spin out within the next year.

Quantum networking will not arrive overnight, but seeing our setup work outside the lab for the first time made the idea of real and useful quantum networks feel a little closer.

For more information on the Intertangle proposition please contact commercial lead Dr Natalia Valencia Hererra on N.Valencia_Herrera@hw.ac.uk or visit www.intertangle.

For more information on commercialisation projects, industry collaboration, investment opportunities and technology transfer, contact Enterprise Executive Rachel Connolly on r.connolly@hw.ac.uk.