A hundred years have passed since the discovery (or invention) of quantum mechanics by Heisenberg, Born, Jordan, and Schrödinger – which is why 2025 was proclaimed an international year by the United Nations (UN) – and the current significance of quantum science is the technological advancements that have taken place over the past few years that promise to revolutionise electronic communications.
With World Quantum Day next week (14 April) the National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) is highlighting the growing importance of quantum science and technology.
In support of the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, the NSTF recently hosted an in-depth two-day discussion forum with top South African scientists and researchers to explore the transformative potential of this relatively new field. The online event was hosted in collaboration with the South African Quantum Technology Initiative (SA QuTi), the research network in South Africa (SA) headed by Professor Andrew Forbes – NSTF-South32 Awards Special Annual Theme Award winner 2025.
The era we now live in is that of quantum information; an interdisciplinary field that studies how quantum mechanics can be used for information processing, transmission, and storage. Not so long ago, every office had a fax machine that worked over a phone line and terrestrial cables. Then came satellites that transmitted data over long distances, connecting ground-based devices to a central network through space instead of those cables. Unthinkable amounts of data are now transmitted through space, making communications seamless and almost instant across the globe. Now quantum technology has the potential to speed up these communications exponentially, while at the same time making communication hyper-secure.
Research processes today are increasingly artificial intelligence (AI) assisted with machine learning, deep learning, and natural language models driving automation, prediction, and decision-making. Quantum computing represents the next frontier. By harnessing the principles of superposition and entanglement, quantum technologies offer capabilities that far surpass those of classical high performance computing (HPC).
In 2022, The South African Quantum Technology Initiative (SA QuTI) was established in conjunction with the Universities of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Kwa-Zula Natal (UKZN), Zululand (UniZulu), Stellenbosch (SU), and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) each presenting a node that specialises in key areas of quantum research and human capital development.
A new generation of science and technology students at Wits has achieved several world-firsts: high-dimensional teleportation, quantum secret sharing, and the first demonstration of quantum topology. They have also developed a quantum camera, powered by AI, that is capable of capturing images using just a few photons – essentially the ability to take “photographs in the dark.”
At the University of Pretoria (UP), a current research project explores how diatoms – single-celled algae – act with light and energy at a quantum level, particularly for efficient photosynthesis. This promises to have a huge impact on bio-inspired solar technologies.
Great advances are also made in medicine. The newest revolutionary treatment for prostate cancer is a microscopically guided missile system designed to find and destroy prostate cancer cells.
In the ASP Isotope lab at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), precisely tuned lasers and quantum mechanical principles are used to efficiently separate isotopes based on their unique quantum “fingerprints”.
Quantum teleportation sounds like something out of Star Trek, but at the UKZN a research professor and his students have managed to “teleport” images across a network without actually sending them.
Then there’s the colourful world of Quantum Dots being explored at UniZulu, and the remarkable development of a diamond-based hybrid qubit system that is being pioneered by one of SA’s top physicists at Wits.
To meet this quantum revolution, IBM is developing a quantum platform that scales beyond classical computation. Since 2016, IBM has publicly developed 60 quantum devices and 25 quantum computers that can run circuits with 5 000 two-qubit gates. The aim is to build tools that will give scientists and researchers a “quantum advantage”.
Ultimately, the goal is to turn quantum science into quantum technologies that are useful, cost-effective, and commercially viable. To guide inventors in developing their ideas into products, the technology transfer offices (TTOs) – like that of the CPUT – manage intellectual property (IP) rights arising from publicly funded research and ensure compliance with national regulations and institutional policies.
The unprecedented development of quantum technology poses a great risk for banks that rely on conventional cryptography to secure online banking platforms and payment systems, and South African cybersecurity firms are tackling this problem.
Quantum computation is the foundation for the new era of science, innovation and economic growth.
Countries that own compute capacity will shape the future while countries that rent compute will be the followers. A tailored growth pathway for access to sustainable quantum computing services is an imperative.
A more detailed summary of the presentations by the scientists who contributed to the Quantum Science and Technology Discussion Forum is available on the NSTF website, together with their slide presentations and video recordings.