(MirageNews) With the help of a 2-million-euro NWA grant, Leiden University will work with the help of a 2-million-euro NWA grant with partners such as Surf, Google and Volkswagen to demonstrate that quantum computers are also of value outside the lab.
With the money that Laarman’s consortium has received from the NWA they want to take important steps towards quantum advantage. ‘To do this we are approaching the task from two sides: on the one hand we want to chop up existing problems of companies into bite-sized pieces so that they are suitable for current quantum computers. On the other hand, we are working with researchers and technology partners such as QuTech and TNO to prepare quantum computers themselves for these problems.’
In the very best case, the consortium will be able to bring supply and demand together in such a way that they can achieve quantum advantage. Laarman: ‘If not, we will still have developed a great deal of new expertise and manpower that can work with quantum computers in the future. At the end of the day, quantum computing is a totally different field than regular computer science. Experts have to start over from scratch. So it’s good that people are gaining experience already.’
Apart from the goal of demonstrating the societal importance of quantum computers, there is also a major outreach component to the NWA grant. ‘We want to engage with society in order to increase public awareness of quantum computers. For example, we can now continue with ‘Quantum Rules!’ at the faculty, with which we teach secondary school students about quantum technology. We are also going to conduct research into the perception of quantum in society’. After all, quantum computers may be ready for society, but is society ready for quantum computers as well?