Canadian quantum sensor startup SBQuantum has received two Canadian defence contracts worth about $3 million to test its quantum magnetometer technology in field conditions.
The Sherbrooke, Quebec-based company is working on sensors that are intended to help users navigate and detect objects by reading changes in magnetic fields. The appeal for defence users is straightforward: GPS is useful, but it can be unreliable in some northern environments and vulnerable to interference in contested areas.
SBQuantum’s pitch is not that magnetic navigation replaces every part of modern positioning. It is that a passive sensor, reading the Earth’s magnetic field rather than waiting for a satellite signal, could give military users another way to operate when GPS is degraded, jammed or unavailable.
How the Technology Is Meant to Work
SBQuantum’s system is built around a quantum diamond magnetometer. According to the company, the sensor can be mounted on platforms such as drones, vehicles, aircraft or autonomous underwater vehicles, depending on the mission.
The basic idea is to measure small variations in the Earth’s magnetic field. Those variations can be compared with magnetic maps or used to help identify nearby objects with a distinct magnetic signature. In practical terms, the company says the technology could support navigation, terrain mapping and detection of metallic objects in places that are hard to reach by ground.
The sensor uses engineered diamonds and laser light to measure how electrons respond to magnetic fields. That quantum response is what allows the device to act as a sensitive magnetometer.
For defence forces, the most important feature may be that the system does not depend on a signal transmitted from a satellite or a ground station. That means it is designed for environments where conventional GPS or other satellite navigation services may be disrupted.
Why Canada Is Testing It
Canada’s geography makes the problem more than theoretical. Arctic operations, remote terrain and wide stretches of difficult access all create pressure for navigation tools that do not rely entirely on outside infrastructure.
SBQuantum chief executive Eric Giroux framed the need around sovereignty and resilience, saying Canada needs GPS-independent navigation capability for Arctic and GPS-denied operations.
The company’s latest contracts are tied to that goal. One contract, valued at $1.05 million, was awarded through the Department of National Defence’s Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security program. That work is aimed at testing portable sensor systems in real-world settings.
The second contract, valued at $1.95 million, was awarded through Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s Innovative Solutions Canada program. SBQuantum says that project will involve mounting its sensors on drones to detect surface landmarks and hidden metallic objects in remote Canadian terrain.
| Contract | Value | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| DND IDEaS program | $1.05 million | Field testing portable quantum magnetometer systems |
| Innovative Solutions Canada | $1.95 million | Drone-mounted sensor testing for landmark and metallic object detection |
Where It Fits in Defence and Resource Work
The contracts arrive as Canada places more attention on domestic defence industrial capacity. Quantum sensors are one of the technology areas often discussed in that context because they could support navigation, surveillance, mapping and detection without the same dependence on external signals.
SBQuantum was founded in 2017 as a spinout from the Universite de Sherbrooke’s Institut Quantique. The company says it has about 25 employees and has worked with customers or partners including the Department of National Defence, the National Research Council, the Canadian Space Agency and the European Space Agency.
The startup has also been involved in space-based magnetic field work. Its quantum magnetometer technology was part of a National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency MagQuest effort to improve measurement of the Earth’s magnetic field from orbit.
Defence is not the only market SBQuantum is pursuing. The company has also received Canada and United Kingdom support for a mining-focused project called Quantum Accelerated Mining Exploration. That work is aimed at using sensor systems to help identify mineral deposits such as cobalt, copper, lithium, nickel, platinum and rare earths by their magnetic signatures.
The mining use case shows why the same sensing approach can matter outside the military. A drone-mounted magnetometer that can survey remote land may be useful wherever teams need to map what is hidden underground, underwater or beyond easy physical access.
What Still Needs to Be Proven
The defence contracts do not mean the technology is already a finished replacement for GPS. They are testing and deployment contracts, and the important questions now are practical ones: how well the sensors perform in demanding terrain, how accurately they support positioning, and how easily they can be integrated onto aircraft, drones or vehicles.
SBQuantum closed a US$4 million seed round in April, giving it additional capital as it moves from laboratory and pilot work toward field validation. For now, the company’s role is best understood as part of a broader push to give defence and industrial users more options when satellite navigation is not enough.