10178785QUARTZ: Quantum Underground Assessment & Risk-mapping for Transport ZonesClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UK**QUARTZ explores how advanced quantum sensing can transform the way the United Kingdom plans, builds and maintains its transport infrastructure.** The project investigates the use of quantum gravimetry, a second-generation quantum technology that measures minute variations in the Earth's gravitational field to reveal what lies beneath the surface without excavation. By applying this technique, QUARTZ aims to make road, rail and construction projects more efficient, resilient and sustainable. **Traditional survey methods, such as ground-penetrating radar or seismic imaging, are limited in depth and accuracy, often missing hidden features such as voids, sinkholes or unstable ground.** Such gaps in subsurface data cost the UK transport sector billions of pounds each year through unplanned repairs, project delays and infrastructure failures. **Quantum gravimetry offers a potential step change by detecting underground density changes to depths of up to fifty metres with far greater precision. This capability could allow engineers to identify potential risks before construction begins, improving safety and reducing disruption.** **As one of the first projects to apply quantum gravimetry** to UK transport infrastructure, QUARTZ will integrate quantum sensors with open data from the British Geological Survey and Ordnance Survey to test the technology in real-world conditions. **Quantum data** will be combined with **digital-twin models** that visualise underground structures in three dimensions, enabling engineers and planners to **make more informed, evidence-based decisions.** **The approach is expected to enhance subsurface understanding and support more effective asset management across transport networks.** **The project will also develop an outline business case** to evaluate how quantum sensing could be adopted commercially within the UK transport sector. **The study will assess the potential for reducing costs and survey time compared with conventional techniques, while exploring how non-invasive quantum methods could lower the environmental impact of infrastructure projects.** These outcomes are envisaged to demonstrate how quantum sensing may contribute to the UK's wider innovation and Net Zero objectives. Fully delivered within the United Kingdom, QUARTZ will share its results with the UK's quantum and transport communities. By advancing quantum gravimetry from laboratory research to applied transport use, the project is paving the way for quantum technologies to revolutionise how the UK builds and maintains its critical infrastructure.