Quantum News Briefs December 2: South Korean Chungbuk National University to Install First Quantum Computer IQM Spark • Boosting Europe’s Quantum Computing Infrastructure • Quantum Missions Pilot in UK: Quantum Computing and Quantum Networks • Next-Gen Quantum Computing: The Fusion of Atoms and Photonic Innovation at UofChicago
South Korean Chungbuk National University to Install First Quantum Computer IQM Spark
Chungbuk National University (CBNU) today December 2 announces the purchase of its first quantum computer from IQM Quantum Computers (IQM), a global leader in designing, building, and selling superconducting quantum computers, aimed at driving quantum research and education programming while preparing students for the quantum workforce.
The recent adoption of the quantum computer marks a significant milestone as the first commercial quantum computer to be installed through the Korean government’s official procurement process.
The ChungBuk Quantum Research Center (CBQRC) in CBNU, established with support from the Chungbuk Provincial Government, has been instrumental in facilitating this initiative. Professor Kiwoong Kim, Director of the CBQRC, stated, “We hope that the introduction of this quantum computer will serve as a catalyst for accelerating quantum technology exchange and industrialization between Finland and Korea.”
The installation of the 5-qubit full-stack quantum computer named “IQM Spark” will begin in the first quarter of 2025. This announcement reflects Chungbuk National University and IQM’s shared commitment to support South Korean’s government efforts to promote quantum education and training.
The quantum computer to be deployed at the university’s campus is part of IQM’s global fleet of machines accessible through the cloud and on-site and delivered to customers in the US, France, Germany, Finland, among others.
Boosting Europe’s Quantum Computing Infrastructure
The Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC) at Forschungszentrum Jülich received a 100-qubit quantum computer from Pasqal in mid-November. The new quantum computer is part of the EuroHPC JU project HPCQS and will be coupled with the JURECA DC supercomputer at JSC as per December 2 Globe Newswire release.
The delivery of this quantum computer is a key milestone in the EuroHPC JU project HPCQS. The “High Performance Computer and Quantum Simulator hybrid” initiative aims to advance the integration of quantum systems with the European supercomputing infrastructure, creating powerful new resources for solving complex optimization problems. These resources will support applications across a range of fields, including drug design, supply chain management, wireless network design, intelligent charging of autonomous cars, financial, trading and cybersecurity. In addition, the computing power of Pasqal’s Quantum Processing Unit (QPU) will be used for simulations in physics and chemistry as well as for quantum machine learning.
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The device will also expand the resources at the Jülich UNified Infrastructure for Quantum computing (JUNIQ), a public quantum computing user facility deployed by JSC. JUNIQ provides science and industry with access to state-of-the-art quantum computers, supporting early exploration and adoption of quantum computing technologies.
The HPCQS project is supported by the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) and six European countries (Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain). HPCQS is coordinated by the JSC and aims to integrate two quantum computers from Pasqal, each controlling about 100+ quantum bits (qubits) in two already existing supercomputers. The first quantum computer was delivered to the French supercomputing center GENCI/CEA.
Quantum Missions Pilot in UK: Quantum Computing and Quantum Networks
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will invest up to £9.5 million for Quantum Computing (QC) and Quantum Networks (QN) projects. These will be to support the five Quantum Missions that were established to deliver the UK National Quantum Strategy.
The aim of this competition is to accelerate the QC and QN technologies by increasing their capabilities and removing technological barriers to their commercialisation and adoption.
The project must identify one or more key technological barriers or limitations and propose an innovative project that will address them.
Entrants’ QC project must be in the form of hardware development. Projects in the intersection of both themes are encouraged, for example, networking of quantum computers to advance information processing.
Funding for QC projects will be up to £3 million and up to £1 million for QN projects. If your project is both Quantum Computing and Quantum Networks, funding will be up to £3 million.
In applying to this competition, entrants are entering into a competitive process. This competition has a funding limit, it may not be able to fund all the proposed projects. It may be the case that a project scores highly but are still unable to fund it.
This competition closes at 11am UK time on the deadline stated in this Innovate UK competition brief.
Next-Gen Quantum Computing: The Fusion of Atoms and Photonic Innovation at UofChicago
Researchers at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) have made a breakthrough by combining two advanced technologies: trapped atom arrays and photonic devices. This innovative approach enables the creation of scalable quantum systems by using photonics to interconnect individual atom arrays, paving the way for advancements in quantum computing, simulation, and networking. The November 29 SciTechDaily report summarized here.
“We have merged two technologies which, in the past, have really not had much to do with each other,” said Hannes Bernien, Assistant Professor of Molecular Engineering and senior author of the new work, published in Nature Communications. “It is not only fundamentally interesting to see how we can scale quantum systems in this way, but it also has a lot of practical applications.”
Arrays of neutral atoms trapped in optical tweezers—highly focused laser beams that can hold the atoms in place—are an increasingly popular way of building quantum processors. These grids of neutral atoms, when excited in a specific sequence, enable complex quantum computation that can be scaled up to thousands of qubits. However, their quantum states are fragile and can be easily disrupted.
In the new work, Bernien’s group developed a new semi-open chip geometry allowing atom arrays to interface with photonic chips, overcoming these challenges. With the new platform, quantum computations can be carried out in a computation region, and then a small portion of those atoms containing desired data are moved to a new interconnect region for the photonic chip integration.
