Seven universities and nine companies will develop innovative sensors to analyse the atmosphere's composition. One of the project partners is the University of Gdańsk. A team of UG scientists led by dr hab. Łukasz Rudnicki, prof. UG from the International Centre for Theory Of Quantum Technologies will develop solutions inspired by quantum metrology. The researchers received nearly PLN 1.1 million from the Horizon Europe programme for this purpose. The budget for the entire project is €5 million.

‘Quantum metrology, in theory, makes it possible to find measurement methods whose sensitivity will be higher than traditional ones. Success is when these methods can be translated into a working measurement system, which, as we know, is subject to both technological and practical (e.g. financial) limitations,' explains prof. Łukasz Rudnicki. ‘Our large-scale application project has a research component in quantum metrology, as we believe this will further enhance the sensitivity of future devices.’

The research will involve 16 partners from six countries: Finland, France, Italy, Spain, the UK and Poland. The team will be led by the University of Eastern Finland, and the project will run from January 2024 to December 2026.

The planned outcome of the three-year effort is to develop a sensor that determines the air concentration of gases such as CO2, NO2, CH4, N2O, O3, O2, and CO by monitoring the absorption spectrum. The sensor would operate over a broad spectrum range and have the sensitivity to detect minute variations.

‘The sensors would find application in measuring stations that determine the level of air and water pollution by monitoring the concentration of individual substances, such as carbon dioxide,’ said prof. Łukasz Rudnicki. ‘Such technologies certainly exist, but their complexity and high production costs mean they are not mass-market solutions. The project aims to create sensors for large-scale applications.’

In the long term, the implementation and commercialisation of the resulting solution is envisaged. The Polish industrial partner in the project is Vigo Photonics.