Colorado won a $40.5 million quantum technology grant from the federal government to help turn the state into a worldwide hub in the emerging field, Gov. Jared Polis announced Monday, as one of 12 awards after a highly competitive sprint for the U.S. money. 

The award cements Colorado’s leadership in quantum computing, which relies on supercooled operations at an atomic level, and will unlock $74 million in state tax credits passed in anticipation of a federal grant win, Polis said. That in turn could draw billions of dollars in private and partnership investment to the field, which already employs thousands of people in Colorado, Polis said. 

“America, rightfully so, is making a bet on the future of computing and Colorado is that bet,” Polis said. “And we’re going to make sure it pays off, not only for Colorado, but for the country and beyond.”

Colorado economic development and technology officials had identified the state’s big head start in quantum research as the most promising avenue when it joined nearly 200 national applicants seeking federal awards from the Department of Commerce’s Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs program. The hubs were enacted as part of the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. 

Applicants sought money for one of 10 technologies designated as key to future U.S. research and development.The state applied for up to $75 million in additional federal funding in February, a few months after the Biden administration named Colorado an official Tech Hub for quantum computing.

A group called Elevate Quantum formed a consortium of private quantum companies, investors, startups and universities including the University of Colorado and Colorado School of Mines. At least three Boulder-area companies are building their own quantum computers in a race to offer more qubits, akin to computer data. The quantum industry could bring $3 billion in funding to Colorado over the next decade, officials say, plus provide jobs for 30,000 future workers at different education and training levels.

Colorado’s enthusiasm for quantum technology was reinforced on a recent trade mission to Finland, Polis said Monday. The Scandinavian nation is an international leader in the field, and Colorado has a memorandum of understanding on research. 

“We were certainly hoping that our country would not give leadership in this area to the rest of the world,” Polis said. “And yes, with this decision, the United States of America is making a clear statement that we are serious about America being a leader in quantum technology. Colorado is the place to invest and make it happen.”

Winning the additional funding means that House Bill 1325, passed by the legislature this year, kicks in to provide up to $74 million in state tax credits to the quantum industry. The fully refundable tax credits would be available to offset the costs of building a shared quantum facility or for financial lenders who provide loans to quantum companies should there be a loss incurred on the loan. 

Quantum, which refers to the science of probabilities down to the atom and the tech that can speed up complex computer calculations, has a long history in the Boulder region. In the 1950s, the National Institute of Standards and Technology picked Boulder for a research facility. NIST, which needed quantum measurements because they need to measure the most precise and sensitive things in the world, later partnered with the University of Colorado to create the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics in 1962.