Europe Aims for Leadership Role in Quantum Computing

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www.eetimes.eu, Dec. 26, 2023 – 

The topic of quantum computing occupied an entire day at the recent PUZZLE X conference in Barcelona–with visionaries such as Nobel laureate Sir Roger Penrose, Bob Coecke (Quantinuum), Brian Subirana (Harvard and MIT), and Marta Estarellas (Qilimanjaro) served up as speakers.

And that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Some European companies and research institutions are already exploring the possibilities of hybrid approaches, combining the existing capabilities of rudimentary quantum computers and their binary cousins to optimize port logistics, airline schedules, urban deliveries and television advertising programming.

The next step is to leverage the power of quantum computing for life sciences, focusing on cancer research, developing new drugs and creating a digital twin of the human body.

In a significant development, the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) recently selected six sites within the EU to host the first European quantum computers. Integrating into EuroHPC supercomputers, these computers will use tech from European firms. The €100 million (about $110 million dollar) project, funded equally by the EU and 17 participating EuroHPC JU countries, aims to address complex problems in materials development, drug discovery, weather forecasting, transportation and other critical, real-world issues.

"Thanks to its massive computing capacity, it will address complex simulation and optimization problems, especially in materials development, drug discovery, weather forecasting, transportation, and other real-world problems of high importance to industry and society," according to the European Commission website. "Further synergies will be established between the EU and member states over the coming years to further deploy a world-class quantum ecosystem and thus achieve our Digital Decade goal to deliver the first computer with quantum acceleration, by 2025."

European companies already built quantum computers

Amidst this push for quantum computing in Europe, two notable companies stand out: Oxford Quantum Circuits (OQC) and Barcelona's Qilimanjaro.

OQC has achieved remarkable progress, particularly with the launch of Toshiko, a 32-qubit quantum computer integrated into enterprise-ready locations, including colocation data centers.

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