EpoQ Wins 2026 Global Photonics Engineering Contest With Chip-Based Ultra-Precise Atomic Clock

Netherlands-based EpoQ wins up to €100,000 of technology support and opportunity for up to €2M investment as global contest grows by 18% year on year.

Photonic chip industry accelerator PhotonDelta has announced EpoQ as the winner of its 2026 Global Photonics Engineering Contest for its development of a photonic chip-based trapped-ion atomic clock designed to bring laboratory-grade precision timing into real-world environments.

EpoQ, a pre-incorporation venture based in Amsterdam, is using integrated photonics to dramatically reduce the size, weight and power requirements of trapped-ion atomic clocks, some of the world’s most precise timing systems. Today, these systems typically require large and complex laboratory equipment, limiting their use outside specialist environments. EpoQ aims to make the technology compact and deployable for applications including satellites, defence systems and precision metrology.

Highly accurate timing is critical to navigation and communications, but reliance on satellite signals can leave systems vulnerable to disruption, including GPS jamming and spoofing. By bringing laboratory-grade atomic timing into a deployable form, EpoQ’s technology could enable more resilient navigation and timing for applications such as naval vessels and satellites, while opening up other uses where existing high-performance atomic clocks are too large or power-hungry.

The jury selected EpoQ for combining an ambitious use of integrated photonics with a credible solution to a clearly identified market need. Its approach has the potential to significantly reduce the size and complexity of next-generation precision timing systems, opening up applications where traditional trapped-ion clocks would be impractical.

As winner of the contest, EpoQ will receive up to €100,000 worth of technology services from companies across the PhotonDelta ecosystem to bring their ideas to life. It will also have the opportunity to receive up to €2M in pre-seed funding from PhotonDelta, subject to its regular investment process and applicable conditions. The winner will also receive two tickets, including travel and accommodation, to pitch at a major international technology event, as well as international PR support.

The second Global Photonics Engineering Contest, in cooperation with Wevolver, was launched by PhotonDelta and Wevolver in January 2026 to identify and support new applications for photonic chips and help turn promising ideas into commercially viable products and companies.

Interest in the competition grew by approximately 18% compared with its inaugural year, with submissions from 18 countries across Europe, North America, Africa and Asia. For 2026, the contest focused on four areas aligned with PhotonDelta’s application priorities: Communication & Computing, Sensing, Imaging and Wireless. Entries included potential applications ranging from transceivers, quantum technologies and advanced computing to biochips, gas sensing, LiDAR, augmented reality and 6G.

Contest entries were judged on their level of innovation, technical and commercial feasibility, and how effectively the proposed technology addresses current industry challenges.

Louis Gallagher, co-Founder and CEO of EpoQ, said: “The world’s most precise timing technologies are largely constrained to the laboratory. We aim to change that by bringing the performance of trapped-ion clocks into a deployable form factor that can operate in the real world. This is particularly relevant in environments where conventional signals may be disrupted or unavailable.

“Winning this contest gives us access to the photonics capabilities and expertise to accelerate this development and bring high-performance atomic timing into real-world applications across space, defence and critical infrastructure.”

Laurens Weers, Board Member and CFO at PhotonDelta, said: “The quality and international breadth of this year’s submissions demonstrate the growing interest in finding new applications for integrated photonics. It also proves that the maturity of the technology has passed the tipping point for adoption in mainstream applications. Focusing the contest on four key application areas has helped us identify technologies where photonic chips have the potential to make a significant impact.”

Peter van Arkel, CTO at PhotonDelta: “EpoQ stood out for combining an ambitious idea with a credible solution to a very real challenge. Using integrated photonics to bring ultra-precise atomic timing out of the laboratory and into real-world environments could open up important applications across space, defence and metrology. It is exactly the kind of innovation this contest was created to find, and we now want to help the team turn that potential into reality.”

The inaugural Global Photonics Engineering Contest was won by US-based MIT spin-off Perceptra for its ultra-compact photonic chip-based Raman analyser for real-time molecular monitoring. Since winning the competition, Perceptra has secured considerable funding from PhotonDelta to accelerate development of its technology and is establishing integrated photonics R&D operations in the Netherlands.