French National Quantum Update — September 2024
Executive Summary
The French quantum community was busy this September with a steady stream of news about technological advances and important business collaborations. This month’s news highlighted the international flavor of France’s quantum efforts. Pasqal reached across the Atlantic to engage with Université de Sherbrooke, one of Quebec’s premier research and educational institutions. Of particular note, this news made its way to Le Monde, story is below, in an article headlined by not Pasqal’s national quantum leadership, but global quantum leadership. The following is a non-exhaustive list of stories illustrating France’s quantum global leadership during the month of September 2024.
Policy
Quebec sees French quantum computing make headway against American giants
In the Canadian city of Sherbrooke, located 150 kilometers east of Montreal, quantum physics can be found everywhere, even in the local beer. Concocted in the mid-2010s by two former doctoral students at the local university’s Quantum Institute (IQ), and still brewed just a few kilometers away, the city’s “India Quantum Ale” could claim the title of the official drink of Sherbrooke, once the bastion of Quebec’s textile industry, now one of the global capitals of cutting-edge quantum technology. This technology will enable computers that use it (with particles having to be replaced by chips) to perform calculations at speeds that are exponentially faster than those of conventional computers.
Quantum needs more investment, better innovation recipe for growth
Leonardo Quattrucci believes quantum needs to be at the forefront of Europe’s thinking about new technologies in the next decade. It’s a question of leadership, ambition and investment in growth, but a new approach to innovation is needed, too. Quattrucci, a Senior Fellow at the International Center for Future Generations, was speaking during a recent Euractiv debate in Brussels, where the audience heard that the world has moved past the head-scratching question of “What is quantum?” to “How can we lead in the industries of the future?” – the EU wants to be at the forefront of this revolution.
Business
French Financial Institutions, Compliance Officers Face Quantum Revolution
French financial service companies appear to finally have come to grips with a multi-year fraud epidemic that has cost victims hundreds of millions of dollars, though a powerful new technology, Quantum Computing, will give rise to new schemes, a government agency has warned.
Quantonation Backs Quantum Signals, Using AI-Quantum Hybrid Solutions For Finance
Quantum Signals, a new venture co-founded by Yianni Gamvros and Iordanis Kerenidis, has launched with the goal of reshaping the finance sector through the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing, according to a Quantonation blog post. The company, supported by Quantonation, a key investor in the quantum technology space, aims to improve how traders handle large order executions and enhance the decision-making processes in financial markets.
Alice & Bob And Thales Develop Quantum Algorithms For Next Generation Aerospace Equipment
Alice & Bob and Thales announced today a partnership to develop quantum algorithms capable of accelerating the simulation of aerospace equipment, such as radar or telecommunications antennas.These algorithms will be developed for the new generation of “error resilient” quantum computers, known as FTQCs (Fault Tolerant Quantum Computers). Quantum computers can be classified as analog, noisy or fault tolerant. In line with the French government’s recommendation that priority should be given to the latter, Alice & Bob and Thales are today joining forces to make France a frontrunner in the development of mature quantum technology.
Pasqal, a global leader in neutral-atom quantum computing, and Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS) have signed an agreement to collaborate on advancing quantum computing education and research. This partnership aims to develop educational materials, train a quantum-ready workforce and enable groundbreaking research using Pasqal’s quantum technologies.
Welinq Establishes Scientific Advisory Board, Includes Nobel Prize Winner
Welinq, a pioneering modular quantum computing company, is proud to announce the formation of its Scientific Advisory Board, composed of four of the world’s most influential figures in quantum science. This esteemed board will guide Welinq’s strategic direction and R&D efforts, positioning the company at the forefront of modular quantum computing—a critical architecture for the future of distributed quantum computing.
Pasqal Partners with EDF to Shake Up Smart Charging
Pasqal, a French quantum computing company, has partnered with energy giant EDF to tackle the challenges of smart charging for electric vehicles using quantum technology. The collaboration aims to address the complex optimization problems associated with charging large fleets of electric vehicles, an essential step as electric mobility grows rapidly.
Quandela And Attocube Systems AG Selected to Provide Europe’s Photonic Quantum Computer
Quandela and attocube systems AG have announced that they have been selected by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking and EuroQCS-France to deliver the most powerful universal photonic quantum computer in Europe, with at least 12 qubits. This system, owned by EuroHPC and co-acquired by GENCI, will be hosted and operated by the CEA at the TGCC. It will be connected to the Joliot-Curie supercomputer and made available in 2025 for the scientific community in the context of open research.
Teams that are competing in this preliminary round of the Airbus-BMW Quantum Mobility Quest, an initiative aimed at leveraging quantum technologies for the development of autonomous systems, are exploring innovative solutions. The challenge brought together some of the brightest minds in quantum computing to tackle the pressing problem of generating realistic and complex images for testing AI vision systems. French-based Quandela is one of the quantum teams in this challenge.
Pasqal Partners with EDF to Shake Up Smart Charging
Pasqal, a French quantum computing company, has partnered with energy giant EDF to tackle the challenges of smart charging for electric vehicles using quantum technology. The collaboration aims to address the complex optimization problems associated with charging large fleets of electric vehicles, an essential step as electric mobility grows rapidly.
European Scientists Develop Quantum Space Sensor to Combat Climate Change
A team of European researchers is advancing space sensor technology by integrating quantum mechanics into satellite-based instruments. The aim is to create highly precise measurements of Earth’s gravity field, which can help track changes in glaciers, sea levels, and groundwater. The project, known as CARIOQA, is part of a broader effort to enhance gravity mapping by employing quantum accelerometers. These sensors are expected to deliver more detailed insights into the planet’s shifting mass and could revolutionize how scientists monitor climate change.
Research
GENCI to retire Joliot-Curie supercomputer when Alice Recoque exascale machine comes online
GENCI, the French national HPC agency, is set to retire its Joliot-Curie supercomputer once its Alice Recoque exascale machine comes online, DCD can exclusively report. According to the tender documents for the upcoming Alice Recoque system, the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) states that GENCI will couple “two experimental hybrid quantum computing partitions” with Alice Recoque, “replacing Joliot-Curie… thereby enabling a hybrid HPC/QC service for European communities and facilitating new applications.”
Education and Events
The CNRS research network « Quantum Technologies » GdR TeQ is organizing its second colloquium (TEQ#2) at Sorbonne Université, on Jussieu Campus, Paris 5, from Wednesday 13nd to Friday 15th November 2024.
Keep track of everything going on in the Quantum Technology Market. In one place.
Matt Swayne
With a several-decades long background in journalism and communications, Matt Swayne has worked as a science communicator for an R1 university for more than 12 years, specializing in translating high tech and deep tech for the general audience. He has served as a writer, editor and analyst at The Quantum Insider since its inception. In addition to his service as a science communicator, Matt also develops courses to improve the media and communications skills of scientists and has taught courses.
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MENTIONED IN THE ARTICLE
PASQAL
PASQAL’s quantum computers control neutral atoms with optical tweezers using lasers to manipulate quantum registers with up to a few hundred qubits. Location in Boston MA.
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Quantum Signals
Quantum Signals is a company focused on next-generation AI trading. They specialize in combining advanced artificial intelligence with quantum insights to enhance the understanding and modeling of financial markets' microstructure.
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Quantonation
Quantonation is an Early Stage Venture Fund dedicated to Deep Physics startups with a focus on the emerging and disruptive field of Quantum Technologies.
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Alice&Bob
Alice&Bob are working towards building an error corrected, fault tolerant quantum computer. They are working with superconducting circuits called ‘Cat Qubits’ which reduce the hardware required for error correction. With a cat Qubit, it is possible to stabilize two particular states in which quantum information is encoded autonomously.
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Quandela
Quandela is a French startup that specializes in photonic quantum computing by providing modular, scalable, and energy-efficient photonic quantum computers, accessible both on the cloud and on premise. They provide prototyping services with their Perceval simulator alongside their general purpose chips optimized chips, and development of algorithms and protocols which provide photonic solutions for applications ranging from pharmaceutical and material design, to quantum machine learning, networking and optimization.
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EuroHPC Joint Undertaking
The European High-Perfomance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) is pooling European resources and efforts to to develop a World Class exascale supercomputing Ecosystem in Europe.
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GENCI
GENCI (Grand équipement national de calcul intensif) is a French public organization that coordinates and funds the major high-performance computing (HPC) centers in France. It is a civil society owned 49% by the French state, 20% by the Commissariat energie atomique, 20% by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), 10% by universities, and 1% by the National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control. GENCI aims to democratize the use of digital simulation, high-performance computing, and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing to support French scientific and industrial competitiveness. GENCI collaborates with the Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe (PRACE) to coordinate HPC resources and access across Europe. GENCI’s role is to implement the national strategy for equipping in HPC and storage resources, while servicing the three national computing centres (TGCC for CEA, IDRIS for CNRS and CINES for French Universities).
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CNRS
The French National Centre for Scientific Research is among the world's leading research institutions. Its scientists explore the living world, matter, the Universe, and the functioning of human societies in order to meet the major challenges of today and tomorrow. Internationally recognised for the excellence of its scientific research, the CNRS is a reference in the world of research and development, as well as for the general public.
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