The University of Southern Queensland’s Springfield campus is now home to Australia’s first industry-accessible cryogenic measurement laboratory, a $5.5 million facility designed to give researchers, businesses and startups direct access to quantum testing infrastructure for the first time.
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The Quantum Cryo Lab gives users direct access to the ultra-low temperature environments needed to develop and test next-generation quantum hardware, with potential applications across healthcare, cybersecurity, logistics, defence and energy. The facility opens up capabilities that have typically been out of reach due to cost, particularly for smaller organisations.
UniSQ Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research, Development and Commercialisation) Professor Robert Sang described the opening as a landmark moment, not just for the university, but for Queensland’s broader innovation landscape.
He said the facility places advanced experimental quantum capability directly into the hands of researchers, industry and government, supporting innovation and collaboration that would not otherwise be possible. According to Professor Sang, UniSQ has the capability to build and operate this complex infrastructure, helping researchers and companies move more quickly from idea to prototype to impact.
A hub for collaboration, not just experimentation
Beyond its role as a testing facility, the Quantum Cryo Lab is designed to function as a collaboration hub, bringing together universities, industry partners and startups to jointly develop emerging technologies and fast-track them toward commercialisation. It has been designed to support a broad user base, including small-to-medium enterprises, providing access to capabilities that are typically too expensive to access independently.
The lab’s foundation partner, Analog Quantum Circuits (AQC), was the first organisation to use the facility and played a role in its development, now operating as an anchor client. AQC Chief Executive Officer Dr Tom Stace said the world is at a pivotal moment for advanced technologies, where access to specialised infrastructure will define future capability. He described working within Australia’s first industry-accessible quantum cryogenic lab as genuinely exciting, noting it enables innovation at a new level and demonstrates Queensland’s ambition to become a global destination for quantum and cryogenic technologies.
The facility was officially opened by Dr Christian Rowan MP, Assistant Minister to the Premier and Leader of the House, on behalf of the Minister for the Environment and Tourism and Minister for Science and Innovation, the Honourable Andrew Powell MP, alongside UniSQ Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Paul Mazerolle.
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The Quantum Cryo Lab was delivered through Queensland’s Quantum and Advanced Technologies Commercialisation Infrastructure Program (QCIP), an initiative aimed at building advanced technology capability across the state.
The facility is now open for bookings, offering researchers and industry partners access to advanced cryogenic testing capability in Australia.
Published 11-May-2026
