Quantum News Briefs October 25: DOE Announces $30M to Use Quantum Computing for Chemistry and Materials Science Simulations • Quantum CD’ Could Hold Up to 1,000 Times More Data than Today’s Optical Discs • Innovation Institute of Massachusetts Technology Announces $16M Grant for Quantum Computing Complex • Netherlands to Host One of 9 EU Quantum Computers in Amsterdam
DOE Announces $30M to Use Quantum Computing for Chemistry and Materials Science Simulations
The U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) announced on October 24 funding to pioneer a new approach to studying chemistry and materials. The Quantum Computing for Computational Chemistry (QC3) program aims to develop quantum algorithms to advance diverse areas of energy research, such as designing new and sustainable industrial catalysts, discovering new superconductors for more efficient electricity transmission, and developing improved battery chemistries.
The QC3 program strives to advance ARPA-E’s mission by developing, optimizing, and co-designing quantum solutions to some of the most urgent challenges in energy. Each project team will identify a specific problem in chemistry or materials science where a quantum solution, if scalable and generalizable, can lead to significant energy impact or reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
These quantum simulations will achieve breakthrough performance through software optimization across the computational “stack” of applications, software, and hardware. Each project team must achieve a 100x improvement over classical methods or show a scalable approach to doing so and be validated on available quantum computer hardware.
Visit the ARPA-E eXCHANGE website for more information about QC3, including key guidelines, and read the QC3 program description.
In Other News “‘Quantum CD’ Could Hold Up to 1,000 Times More Data than Today’s Optical Discs”
Scientists have proposed a new type of data storage device that harnesses the powerful properties of quantum mechanics as reported by October 25 in Live Science.
The ultra-high-density optical memory device would consist of numerous memory cells, each containing rare earth elements embedded within a solid material — in this case, magnesium oxide (MgO) crystals. The rare earth elements emit photons, or particles of light, which are absorbed by nearby “quantum defects” — vacancies in the crystal lattice containing unbonded electrons, which become excited by light absorption.
Researchers propose that MgO could be interspersed with narrow-band rare earth emitters. These elements emit light at specific wavelengths, which could be densely packed together. The scientists published their findings Aug. 14 in the journal Physical Review Research
The scientists discovered that when the quantum defects absorbed the narrow band of energy emitted from the nearby rare earth elements, they became excited from their ground state and flipped into a spin state. As the spin state transition is hard to reverse, these defects could potentially store data for a useful period — although further work would be required to measure this, the scientist said.
Innovation Institute of Massachusetts Technology Announces $16M Grant for Quantum Computing Complex
The Innovation Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative has announced a $16-million in grant funding for a new regionwide quantum computing complex that will be housed at the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC) in Holyoke.
The Innovation Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative is providing $5 million and QuEra, MGHPCC’s industry partner is providing $11 million.
The complex will support start-ups, companies, research organizations, and other entities involved in the growth of quantum technologies and will provide internship and fellowship opportunities.
Massachusetts has been recognized as a “global hub” for the technology industry, and MGHPCC provides state-of-the-art infrastructure for computationally intensive research. Additionally, the location allows access to and partnerships with local research colleges and universities.
The Netherlands will host one of nine European quantum computers. It will be located at the Amsterdam Science Park and integrated with the Dutch supercomputer Snellius, the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) announced.
EuroHPC JU also sees uses for quantum computing in improving traffic flows in smart cities, simulating molecular structures to develop new medicines and materials, and enhancing cryptographic algorithms for better cybersecurity.
The quantum system in the Netherlands will be based on semiconductor spin qubits. According to SURF, a big advantage of this technology is that it is very compatible with the existing and highly developed semiconductor industry in the Netherlands. “Thus, this technology can be scaled up more easily.”
The quantum computer will cost an estimated 20 million euros. The European Union will cover half of that amount. If all goes according to plan, the quantum computer will be delivered to the Amsterdam Science Park in the summer of 2026.
