Since 2018, Sweden’s Chalmers University of Technology has been running a project to develop a Swedish quantum computer. Currently, the 25 qubits computer is often unavailable, since researchers are working to develop it further. To address this issue, the university will build a copy of the quantum computer, thanks to funding from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. Swedish companies and researchers will be able to use the new computer – which will also be accompanied by a quantum help desk – as a test bed for their algorithms.
Quantum computing
French quantum computing company raises US$5 million to accelerate quantum memory
French company Welinq has raised US$5 million to accelerate the development of its quantum memory technology, described as a key enabling technology for a future quantum internet. Welinq received support from Runa Capital, the Paris Region, the French National Quantum Initiative, the French Banque Publique d’Investissement, and the European Commission.
Quantum memory aims to deploy hardware-agnostic and full-stack quantum links solutions to interconnect multiple quantum processing units (QPU). Quantum memory is based on cold atoms to deploy quantum links regardless of the distance.
ESA will help develop secure quantum communications
The European Space Agency (ESA) supports secure quantum communication by working with satellite manufacturer Thales Alenia Space to develop highly secure technologies based on the laws of quantum physics. The TeQuantS project aims to develop quantum space-to-Earth communications technologies for cybersecurity applications and future quantum information networks. The work is supported by the French space agency (CNES) and the Austrian space agency (ALR).
New report and research highlight need for quantum-safe cryptography
A new IBM report titled Security in the quantum computing era highlights that quantum computing has the potential to affect encryption. Currently used data encryption mechanisms such as public-key cryptography (PKC) can become vulnerable: using quantum computing protocols, bad actors can easily decrypt data. The report suggests the need to plan for quantum-safe cryptography and crypto-agility.
Meanwhile, Chinese scientists have claimed they are capable of breaking encryption by using ‘a universal quantum algorithm for integer factorization that requires only sublinear quantum resources’. They argue that their method would break the RSA-2048 scheme – a public key cryptosystem used widely by governments, tech companies, the defence sector, and app developers for data security – with the use of a 372-qubit quantum computer. However, several encryption experts are sceptical about this claim.
New South Wales government supports quantum ecosystem with $7 million commercialisation fund
The New South Wales government announced a $7 million Quantum Computing Commercialisation Fund to support companies with quantum computing hardware or software within Technology Readiness Level 3 – 7. This fund will target startups and existing deep-tech companies to ensure that innovative projects are accelerated towards commercialising quantum computing.
Xanadu and Rolls- Royce join forces with PennyLane to build new quantum computing tools
Canadian quantum company Xanadu and Rolls-Royce are co-developing new quantum algorithm tooling for PennyLane, a cross-platform Python library for the differentiable programming of quantum computers. This collaboration aims to train a quantum computer similarly to a neural network. The first project will develop quantum software functionality tailored for Quantum Singular Value Transformation to help Rolls-Royce accelerate its research into quantum algorithms for aerospace applications.
Atos Win UK Quantum Simulator Contract
UK Research & Innovation buys a second Quantum Learning Machine from the French company Atos. According to a government tender announcement, in December, UK Research & Innovation awarded Atos £385,000 for a ‘Quantum Learning Machine’ (QLM). The system being procured allows the simulation of quantum computers up to 38 qubits and comes with 3-year support and maintenance.
Research reveals new spin control method that could enable billion-qubit quantum chips
Researchers at Australia’s University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) have discovered a new way of controlling single electrons in quantum dots (tiny nanodevices in qubits which can trap one or a few electrons). The new method could enable large-scale silicon quantum computers in the future.
Practically, the researchers have come up with a new way of manipulating the quantum state of a single qubit by using electric fields, rather than the magnetic fields that had been used before. Controlling single electrons without disturbing others is key for quantum information processing in silicon, and the engineers have discovered a new method for doing so called ‘intrinsic spin-orbit electric dipole spin resonance’. This solution was presented as being less bulky and requiring fewer parts, thus offering advantages that could contribute to making large-scale silicon quantum computers a reality.
Korea Institute of Science and Technology and Xanadu partner to explore quantum use cases for industry
The Korea Institute of Science and Technology and Canadian quantum computing company Xanadu have launched a partnership to investigate industrial uses for quantum computers. The partnership will focus on the further development of quantum algorithms for next-generation lithium-ion batteries and optimising quantum computing hardware.
New UK defence partnership explores use of quantum computing to make better decisions
UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and its industry partner PA Consulting have identified opportunities for a new approach to using quantum computing to support human decision-making. The solutions are rooted in a mix of classical and quantum computing techniques applied to defence-related challenges.
In an initiative funded through the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD’s( Defence and Security Accelerator, PA created prototype tools to help make better and faster decisions, while maintaining essential elements of human decision-making. Looking ahead, these tools are expected to evolve in a way that would allow significant improvements in many decision-making processes across the MOD, lowering risks, and optimising resources.