Germany’s HLRS Sequoia Project to Bring Quantum Computing to Industry

(HPC.Wire) HLRS SEQUOIA will help develop new software for quantum computers and investigate ways to integrate them with conventional systems for high-performance computing and artificial intelligence.
Quantum computing promises to offer advantages over even the fastest supercomputers. Because the technology is only now moving from theoretical research into practical use, however, there is an urgent need to identify which kinds of applications would benefit most from quantum computing, particularly in industry. At the same time, research is needed to develop the software, algorithms, and IT infrastructure that will be necessary to take full advantage of the power that quantum computing could offer.
The High-Performance Computing Center Stuttgart (HLRS) aims to help fulfill these ambitious goals in a newly announced project called SEQUOIA (Software Engineering for Industrial Hybrid Quantum Applications and Algorithms). Working together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering (Fraunhofer IAO) and five additional partners, HLRS will conduct research to improve the performance of algorithms for quantum computing. Additionally, HLRS will focus on developing hybrid approaches that integrate quantum computing with existing high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) methods. By pursuing this research in the context of collaboration with industry partners, the results should lead to quantum computing applications that both resolve current challenges facing HPC and AI, and demonstrate the potential benefits of quantum computing for industry.
SEQUOIA is one of six new projects funded through grants totaling €19 million from the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor, and Housing. Fraunhofer IAO will lead the project, which will operate in coordination with the national Competence Center “Quantum Computing Baden-Württemberg”. The competence center is managing the testing and use of an IBM Q System One quantum computer that is being installed in early 2021 in Ehningen, a small town just south of Stuttgart.