HAMBURG, Germany, May 12, 2024 — NVIDIA revealed today that it plans to boost quantum computing projects at global national supercomputing centers using its new open-source platform, NVIDIA CUDA-Q™.
Supercomputing centers in Germany, Japan, and Poland will utilize the platform to operate the quantum processing units (QPUs) in their NVIDIA-enhanced high-performance computing systems.
QPUs, the core components of quantum computers, utilize the properties of particles such as electrons or photons to perform calculations differently from standard processors. This can potentially speed up specific types of calculations.
Germany’s Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC) at Forschungszentrum Jülich is setting up a QPU made by IQM Quantum Computers. This QPU will enhance its JUPITER supercomputer, which is powered by the NVIDIA GH200 Grace Hopper™ Superchip.
The ABCI-Q supercomputer at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Japan aims to further the country’s quantum computing efforts. It uses the NVIDIA Hopper™ architecture and will incorporate a QPU from QuEra.
Poland’s Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Center (PSNC) recently added two photonic QPUs made by ORCA Computing. These are linked to a new supercomputer section powered by NVIDIA Hopper.
“Useful quantum computing will be enabled by the tight integration of quantum with GPU supercomputing,” said Tim Costa, director of quantum and HPC at NVIDIA.
“NVIDIA’s quantum computing platform equips pioneers such as AIST, JSC and PSNC to push the boundaries of scientific discovery and advance the state of the art in quantum-integrated supercomputing.”
The QPU integrated with ABCI-Q will allow AIST researchers to explore quantum applications in AI, energy, and biology.
It uses Rubidium atoms, controlled by laser light as qubits, to carry out calculations. These atoms are also used in precision atomic clocks and are identical to each other, making them a good choice for developing a large, high-quality quantum processor.
“Japan’s researchers will make progress toward practical quantum computing applications with the ABCI-Q quantum-classical accelerated supercomputer,” said Masahiro Horibe, deputy director of G-QuAT/AIST. “NVIDIA is helping these pioneers push the boundaries of quantum computing research.”
PSNC’s QPUs will help researchers study biology, chemistry, and machine learning using two PT-1 quantum photonics systems. These systems employ single photons at telecom frequencies as qubits. This setup supports a distributed, scalable, and modular quantum architecture using regular telecom components available on the market.
“Our collaboration with ORCA and NVIDIA has allowed us to create a unique environment and build a new quantum-classical hybrid system at PSNC,” said Krzysztof Kurowski, CTO and deputy director of PSNC. “The open, easy integration and programming of multiple QPUs and GPUs efficiently managed by user-centric services is critical for developers and users.
This close collaboration paves the way for a new generation of quantum-accelerated supercomputers for many innovative application areas, not tomorrow, but today.”
The QPU integrated with JUPITER will allow JSC researchers to create quantum applications for chemical simulations and optimization tasks, as well as show how quantum computers can speed up classical supercomputers. It uses superconducting qubits, which are electronic circuits that act like artificial atoms when cooled to low temperatures.
“Quantum computing is being brought closer by hybrid quantum-classical accelerated supercomputing,” said Kristel Michielsen, head of the quantum information processing group at JSC.
“Through our ongoing collaboration with NVIDIA, JSC’s researchers will advance the fields of quantum computing as well as chemistry and material science.”
CUDA-Q closely integrates quantum computers with supercomputers, allowing for the use of quantum computing with AI to address issues like noisy qubits and to create effective algorithms.
CUDA-Q is an open-source platform that works with any QPU and accelerates both quantum and classical supercomputing. It is popular among companies that use QPUs and provides top-level performance.
What we think?
I think NVIDIA’s CUDA-Q initiative will make quantum computing more common and powerful by mixing it with supercomputers around the world.
By using this new technology, scientists in Germany, Japan, and Poland can do complex research faster, like in AI and chemistry.
This could lead to big discoveries and improvements in technology and science. It’s exciting to see how this will change our understanding and use of quantum computing.
