Quantum Technology News Briefs July 22: IonQ unveils accelerated roadmap & new technical milestones to propel commercial quantum advantage forward • Pritzker IDs sites for quantum computing venture with DOD • BBC says “‘Pivotal’ quantum computing chip unveiled

Sandra Helsel

4 months ago

News Releases:

IonQ unveils accelerated roadmap & new technical milestones to propel commercial quantum advantage forward

IonQ recently unveiled expanded and accelerated 2025 technical milestones during an exclusive webinar hosted by CEO Peter Chapman, SVP of Engineering & Technology Dean Kassmann, and CMO Margaret Arakawa as per the July 22 news release.
IonQ describes why it is the only quantum computing company designing and building best-in-class quantum computers that meet the requirements of performance, scalability, and enterprise-grade solutions that are critical for delivering unparalleled commercial advantage to customers.
Performance: Driving Efficiency and Unparalleled Flexibility: Performance improvements are core to IonQ’s technical roadmap, and the path toward meeting IonQ’s aggressive performance targets is clear.
Scale: Architecture that Enables Expansive Growth: IonQ is pursuing scale in tandem with performance. IonQ’s north star is scalability at high performance, and modularity is a critical component of this strategy.
Enterprise-Grade: Meeting Real-World Needs: IonQ’s enterprise-grade approach readies its quantum systems for deployment across various sectors, focusing on manufacturability, deployability, and customer applications at scale. NOTE: Click here for compete news release.

In other news: The Real Deal Reports “Pritzker IDs sites for quantum computing venture with DOD”

Illinois Governor Pritzker has been pushing to make Chicago “the Silicon Valley of quantum development.” The latest development is the the announcement as per The Real Deal is that Former U.S. Steel South Works and old Texaco refinery in Lockport, Ill have been singled out for investment in the hundreds of millions of dollars in quantum technology. The plan for a commercial real estate conversion holds the potential to take Chicago beyond its industrial past and put the city’s South Side on the cutting edge of the post-industrial future.
The hope is that the emphasis on quantum research will take shape at a campus dedicated to the field. Leading candidates include two sites on the South Side: the former U.S. Steel South Works, and an old Texaco oil refinery in the Lockport neighborhood.
The steel mill site is in the hands of Japan-based Nippon Steel, which recently bought U.S. Steel’s remaining assets. Chevron Corporation owns the old Lockport refinery. A location would be selected in conjunction with entities that are expected to be part of the campus, Pritzker said.
The state would work with the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, to develop quantum computing technologies as part of a “Quantum Benchmarking Initiative,” or “QBI.

In Other News: BBC says “‘Pivotal’ quantum computing chip unveiled”

A chip that experts have said could be “pivotal” to creating effective quantum computers has been unveiled as per By Ethan Gudge of BBC News. Gudge reported that Oxford Ionics has said its chip can be mass-produced and means the world’s first useful quantum computer could be built in three years time.The new technology makes it possible to do very complex calculations extremely quickly and solve problems too difficult for regular computers.
University of Oxford Associate Professor of Quantum Computing Aleks Kissinger said the new chip was “very promising”. The new chip created by the Kidlington-based company, is designed to be capable of controlling these trapped ions – providing over twice the performance of previous attempts.The company said the results indicate that “the dawn of useful quantum computing is far closer than previously thought”. Dr Tom Harty, co-founder and chief technical officer at Oxford Ionics, said: “This is an incredibly exciting moment for our team, and for the positive impact that quantum computing will have on society at large.”