Insider Brief
- PASQAL announces the creation of a factory to produce quantum processing devices at Espace Quantique 1 of DistriQ.
- The division will be called PASQAL-Canada and produce hardware for the North American market.
- PASQAL Canada will develop in partnership, new commercial applications in multiple areas, such as: smart cities, energy, and materials science.
PRESS RELEASE — PASQAL, the world leader in quantum computing based on neutral atoms, announces the creation of a factory to produce state-of-the-art quantum processing devices at Espace Quantique 1 of DistriQ – Quantum Innovation Zone in Sherbrooke, Canada. In this new flagship installation, PASQAL-Canada will produce hardware for the North American market to accelerate the adoption of neutral atoms quantum computing in the region. PASQAL Canada will develop in partnership, new commercial applications in multiple areas, such as: smart cities, energy, and materials science, focusing on providing business value to end-users in the short term.
PASQAL’s quantum technology uses highly focused lasers, “optical tweezers”, to trap and manipulate neutral atoms individually to create 1D and 2D arrays in arbitrary configurations. In these quantum processors, each quantum bit (qubit) is encoded into two energy levels of an atom, each atom in these arrays represents a qubit. PASQAL neutral atoms technology has already demonstrated its capability to operate with more than 300 qubits and its next generation devices will deliver a 1,000 qubit quantum computing power, which it believes will provide significant commercial advantages over classical computers by 2024. The company’s customers include BMW, BASF, Johnson & Johnson, Siemens, Airbus, LG Electronics and Thales among many others.
PASQAL will install its quantum computer production in DistriQ’s Espace Quantique 1. Opening in Sherbrooke in early fall 2023, the 50,000 square foot (4,600 square meter) building will be the most extensive and comprehensive commercially focused quantum centre. It brings together the foremost minds in quantum technologies with the most comprehensively equipped shared commercial quantum development labs. DistriQ’s Espace Quantique 1 empowers companies like PASQAL to accelerate the development of technologies and applications by focusing their resources on research and development rather than costly infrastructure and technologies.
“This location is ideal to catalyze PASQAL’s collaborations with academic institutions and industries in North America, ensuring a sustainable development in the growing quantum computing market,” said Raphaël de Thoury, CEO of PASQAL Canada. “The ecosystem in Sherbrooke, fostered by the dynamism of DistriQ – Quantum Innovation Zone in Sherbrooke, is fertile ground for quantum industrial companies like PASQAL. DistriQ is unique, as it is gathering the key leading players in the value chain, from science to industrial applications ”.
The applications resulting from the power of hybrid computers (quantum computing combined with High Performance Computing) are multiple, including:
The optimization of distribution or transport networks
The understanding of photosynthesis mechanisms
The design of catalysts for fertilizers or new drugs
The optimization of batteries or solar cells
Quantum computing is a promising field, and many companies worldwide are investing in developing quantum technologies and applications in the hope of finding solutions to today’s humanity challenges.
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