(HPCWire) The Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) has begun coordination work on the Quantum Spain project, which provides for the construction and installation of the first quantum computer based on European technology. The strategic objective of the Quantum Spain project, approved last Tuesday by the Council of Ministers, is to create a solid quantum computing ecosystem in Spain.
Quantum Spain involves 25 universities and infrastructure and supercomputing centers, from 14 autonomous communities and will be managed by BSC, as the main node of the Spanish Supercomputing Network (RES). The coordinator of the project will be the doctor in quantum computing Alba Cervera, researcher at BSC.
The project foresees the construction of a quantum computer that will be installed at BSC headquarters and that will progressively be equipped with chips of different generations and numbers of qubits. The qubit is the basic unit of quantum computing and the Quantum Spain project will use qubits based on superconducting circuit technology. The construction of the hardware will be carried out in collaboration with companies specialized in this emerging sector.
The project foresees the construction of a quantum computer that will be installed at BSC headquarters and that will progressively be equipped with chips of different generations and numbers of qubits. The qubit is the basic unit of quantum computing and the Quantum Spain project will use qubits based on superconducting circuit technology. The construction of the hardware will be carried out in collaboration with companies specialized in this emerging sector.
The forecast is that the computer will have a first operational two-qubit chip by the end of 2022 and will progressively incorporate new versions of chips, until reaching 20 qubits in 2025.
The priority of Quantum Spain, framed in the National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence (ENIA), is to establish a solid quantum computing ecosystem in Spain, taking advantage of and promoting the talent of local researchers who are experts in this technology. This objective is based on four pillars:
The quantum computer.
The development of useful quantum algorithms applicable to real problems of users, both companies and public entities.
The creation of a remote access system in the cloud to allow industry and the public sector to experiment with new quantum algorithms.
A training program to increase the capacities of potential users of quantum computing and so that all nodes of the Spanish Supercomputing Network (RES) are capable of serving future users of these technologies.
Barcelona Supercomputing Center to Coordinate Quantum Spain, the National Quantum Computing Ecosystem
