Insider Brief
- Quantinuum, Rolls-Royce, Riverlane and EPCC have launched a multi-year collaboration to explore hybrid quantum-supercomputing workflows for industrial applications, beginning with gas turbine fluid dynamics simulations.
- The partners will combine Quantinuum’s quantum hardware and software, Rolls-Royce’s engineering use cases, Riverlane’s quantum error correction expertise and EPCC’s high-performance computing capabilities to develop and test fault-tolerant hybrid algorithms.
- The project will evaluate computational building blocks on Quantinuum’s Helios quantum computer and future systems while supporting the UK’s goal of developing teraQuOp-scale fault-tolerant quantum computers for industrial use.
- Photo by Haci on Unsplash
PRESS RELEASE — Quantinuum Inc. (NASDAQ:QNT), Rolls-Royce, Riverlane and EPCC, the UK National Supercomputing Centre based at the University of Edinburgh, today announced an agreement to explore the quantum computing capabilities needed in future industrial workflows, such as gas turbine design.
Under the agreement, Quantinuum will provide access to its quantum systems and software environment; Rolls-Royce will contribute industrial design use cases and domain expertise; Riverlane will contribute quantum error correction and algorithmic expertise; and EPCC will contribute supercomputing expertise and hybrid workflow integration.
Complex fluid dynamics simulations are central to gas turbine design, but they can require substantial computing resources as models become more detailed. In what is expected to be a multi-year collaboration, the partners will explore how fault-tolerant quantum computers could work alongside supercomputers to address this bottleneck, and accurately model fluid dynamics inside gas turbines.
“The computing demands of simulating complex fluid dynamics are a major challenge in industrial design, and exploring how quantum computing can complement today’s supercomputers is an important step toward addressing them,” said Dr. Rajeeb Hazra, President and CEO of Quantinuum. “This collaboration will help develop and test the hybrid quantum-classical algorithms needed for future industrial applications.”
The collaborators plan to test key computational building blocks for industrially relevant quantum algorithms on Quantinuum’s Helios quantum computer and assess how these could scale on planned future systems, such as Sol and Apollo.
This project builds on prior collaborations between Rolls-Royce, Riverlane and EPCC that laid the foundations for understanding key algorithmic, error correction and data requirements for tackling fluid dynamic simulations with commercial quantum computers.
“We have been developing and improving algorithms for hybrid fault-tolerant applications for almost five years with Riverlane, using classical emulators in collaboration with EPCC. This agreement marks the start of an exciting new phase where we work together to explore their implementations on Quantinuum’s hardware,” said Leigh Lapworth, Fellow in Computational Science at Rolls-Royce. “Applications development is a multi-year activity and if we want to be in a position to benefit from teraQuOp devices, we have to start now, co-developing the algorithms, hardware and software.”
“Riverlane specialises in quantum error correction (QEC), as the critical technology that will ultimately unlock large fault-tolerant quantum computing, and fault-tolerant applications for various industries,” said Steve Brierley, CEO and Founder of Riverlane. “Building on our work with Rolls-Royce and EPCC, collaborating with Quantinuum will help us explore how fault-tolerant quantum computing and hybrid quantum-HPC approaches can accelerate the path to industrial quantum computing.”
EPCC will contribute its expertise in high-performance computing, simulations and the software interfaces needed to connect quantum and classical systems. Its role includes exploring how different parts of an algorithm can be compiled, emulated and executed across classical and quantum resources, including pre- and post-processing steps required for hybrid compute workflows.
“Quantum computing will be most valuable when users can exploit it within a wider computing environment, and EPCC has been working towards hybrid HPC and quantum since my appointment as a Chancellor’s Fellow in 2023,” said Oliver Thomson Brown, Quantum Group lead at EPCC. “EPCC’s mission is to accelerate the effective use of novel computing across industry and academia, and this project is a natural fit with the goals of the UK’s first National Supercomputing Centre.”
The UK’s quantum computing mission aims to develop accessible, UK-based quantum computers capable of one trillion error-free operations, known as “teraQuOp” systems. The collaboration and its anticipated multi-year timeline support the UK Government’s quantum computing mission and reflect the strength and maturity of the UK’s quantum and advanced computing ecosystem in moving from foundational research toward industrially relevant hybrid applications.
