September 27, 2024 -- Advancing the key technology of quantum computing: This is the mission of the Competence Center Quantum Computing Baden-Württemberg (KQCBW). The center is now entering the next phase, in which it will build on the successful cooperation projects to date. The continuation of the research and development work of its partners from science and industry is being prepared within a transfer project. Under the leadership of the Fraunhofer IAF and IAO institutes, the KQCBW is further expanding its leading role in application-oriented quantum computing research in order to unlock the application potential of quantum computers for industry.

Utilizing the potential of quantum computers and achieving a real advantage for practical applications — this goal is being pursued worldwide. In Baden-Württemberg, the Competence Center Quantum Computing Baden-Württemberg (KQCBW) has dedicated itself to this goal over the past four years. Great progress has been made in various areas of quantum computing in successful joint projects. The success of the KQCBW is now to be continued and the unique quantum computing ecosystem in the state further expanded.

The KQCBW will be continued in a ten-month transfer project “Competence Center Quantum Computing Baden-Württemberg: Transfer Project (KQCBW24),” which was launched in September 2024. The transfer project will continue the research work started in the previous projects and carry out important preliminary work for follow-up projects, which are scheduled to run for three years. The KQCBW is funded by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor and Tourism.

The KQCBW pursues an interdisciplinary and systemic approach that includes the development of alternative hardware platforms as well as targeted and application-oriented hardware/software co-design. The expertise that has been built up over the last four years in Baden-Württemberg within the KQCBW will be further expanded in the coming years. The research topics range from quantum simulation in materials and natural sciences to requirements for powerful and reliable hardware environments and the programming of quantum algorithms for industrial needs.

In order to conduct application-oriented research into quantum computing, real quantum computers are indispensable. A key element in the Competence Center Quantum Computing Baden-Württemberg (KQCBW) is therefore access to a powerful state-of-the-art quantum computing infrastructure. To this end, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is continuing its role as a quantum innovation center within the IBM Quantum Network and with IBM Deutschland GmbH, within the framework of the KQCBW. With a renewed agreement, the KQCBW will have access to the latest quantum computers from IBM installed in Ehningen, as well as IBM’s fleet of utility-scale quantum systems available over the cloud.

In addition to access to the IBM systems, access to an NV-based quantum computer and the provision of the HPC simulation infrastructure as well as the virtual demonstrator platform for the simulation of quantum algorithms will also be made possible for all project partners within the KQCBW. This forms a comprehensive quantum computing infrastructure that offers the KQCBW partners ideal conditions for their research work.

Outstanding results were achieved in five joint projects in the previous phase of the KQCBW. In the field of quantum computer hardware design based on nitrogen color centers (NV) in diamonds, system efficiency and quality were significantly increased by means of dipolar NV-NV coupling and the development of robust two-qubit gates and dynamic decoupling protocols. In addition, more accurate simulations of complex molecules were achieved using variational quantum algorithms. In another project, it was possible to develop better tailored methods for characterizing and correcting the errors occurring on the hardware of the superconducting IBM quantum computer. Another research group developed end-to-end demonstrators based on eight use cases from the fields of production, logistics, engineering and automotive and provided self-explanatory, interactive Jupyter notebooks for the entire quantum software development process.

These research results and others from the KQCBW will be presented by the partners at this year’s Quantum Effects, the world’s leading exhibition and conference for application-oriented quantum technologies in Stuttgart, on October 8 and 9, 2024. The software and hardware demonstrators will be presented at the joint QuantumBW booth (booth number 2D15) and the researchers will give talks on their project results and present the next steps in the KQCBW on the QuantumBW exhibition stage on September 9.