Inside the Oxford Innovation Corridor: Fusion, Quantum, & Perovskite Solar

Research evidence excerpt

Inside the Oxford Innovation Corridor: Fusion, Quantum, & Perovskite Solar

in financial services and defence.

Near-term (pre-2028), “narrow quantum advantage” appears likely to emerge in specific use

cases (e.g. optimization, fraud detection), before scaling to broader commercial applications.

Achieving “full quantum advantage” likely requires tens of thousands of logical qubits and

timelines into the mid-2030s. Hardware constraints (error correction, qubit fidelity) remain the

key bottlenecks. Quantum is experiencing early commercial traction and will play a significant

role in the data centre story. Key signals: logical qubit scaling, error-rate thresholds, and

expansion of real-world use cases. .

Source: OQC

The race to commercialise nuclear fusion for grid power continues, targeting the early

2040s. Fusion remains in R&D, with no grid-scale electricity produced as yet and significant

engineering challenges still unresolved. Government-backed programs (e.g. UK STEP) and >50

global startups are advancing parallel approaches, but timelines remain long-dated and capital

intensive. Key signals: prototype performance in the 2030s, sustained plasma operation, and

evidence of net energy gain at scale.

Investors can focus on the "picks and shovels" of fusion as an approach, which also

have broader near-term markets. Technologies such as high-temperature superconducting

(HTS) magnets, advanced materials, and robotics are already being commercialised beyond

fusion (e.g., Tokamak Energy). These have applications in MRI, semiconductors, and power

Luke Sussams * | Sust. & Transition Strategist

infrastructure, offering earlier revenue visibility. Key signals: growth in non-fusion revenues, 44 (0)20 7548 4404 | lsussams@jefferies.com

and industrial adoption of HTS magnets.