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Quantum computing used to sound like the stuff of sci-fi movies, not supply chain planning. But the technology is moving out of the far-off-future category as governments invest in its potential to solve problems with too many variables for today’s computers to handle efficiently. For supply chains, that could eventually mean better ways to model risk, test routing options, improve materials development and protect sensitive data.
According to IBM, quantum computing is an emergent field of computer science and engineering that harnesses the unique qualities of quantum mechanics to solve problems beyond the ability of even the most powerful classical computers. It incorporates a range of disciplines, including quantum hardware and quantum algorithms. “While still in development, quantum technology will soon be able to solve complex problems that classical supercomputers can’t solve (or can’t solve fast enough),” says IBM, which notes that quantum computers can “solve certain problems in minutes or hours that would otherwise take conventional machines millennia to complete.”
A Quicker Way to Test Hard Problems
Going a step further, McKinsey says quantum computers “are poised to take computing to a whole new level,” and that they can potentially solve very complex statistical problems that are well beyond the limits of today’s computers, and across a range of industries and applications.
Here’s how they do it: Classical computing that powers your laptop and smartphone is built on bits. A bit is a unit of information that can store either a zero or a one. By contrast, quantum computing is built on quantum bits, or qubits, which can store both zeros and ones. Qubits can represent any combination of both zero and one simultaneously; this is called superposition, and it is a basic feature of any quantum state.
“When a classical computer uses multiple variables to solve a problem, it must conduct a new calculation every time one of those variables changes,” McKinsey explains. “Each calculation is a single path to a single result. Quantum computers, on the other hand, can explore many paths in parallel through superposition.”
So in a nutshell, quantum computing gives researchers a faster way to test many possible answers to a hard problem. In supply chain terms, that could mean comparing more routes, suppliers, demand scenarios or material options in less time. That’s why governments see it as more than a science project. It could become a powerful tool for logistics, manufacturing, cybersecurity and other areas where speed and complexity now drive major business decisions. Why
Washington is Investing Now
The U.S. government appears to be going all in on quantum computing, with the Department of Commerce signing letters of intent with nine different companies in May. The department plans to award over $2 billion in federal incentives to those firms under the CHIPS and Science Act.
According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the funds will support a portfolio of quantum companies, including two domestic quantum foundry companies and seven quantum computing companies to accelerate solving the most critical technology challenges in the race to develop utility scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers.
“Quantum computing has significant implications for national defense, advanced materials and biopharmaceutical discovery, financial modeling, and energy systems,” NIST said in its funding announcement. “A strong domestic quantum ecosystem is essential for U.S. national security, technological resilience and long-term strategic leadership.”
The Department of Commerce is proposing incentives for two quantum foundries (GlobalFoundries and IBM) to help establish and accelerate foundational domestic manufacturing capacity for the quantum sector.
- GlobalFoundries will receive $375 million in planned funding to establish a secure, domestic quantum foundry for leading architectures and multiple modalities (superconducting, trapped ion, photonic, topological and silicon spin) used in large-scale quantum computers.
- IBM will receive $1 billion in planned funding to establish a new quantum foundry subsidiary for quantum-grade superconducting wafers by building on its U.S. leadership in superconducting quantum wafer fabrication technology.
Quantinuum is one of the companies set to receive the federal funding, which it will use to develop large-scale, fault-tolerant trapped-ion quantum computers.
“Quantum computing has the potential to unlock new possibilities across science, industry, and national priorities for decades to come,” said Dr. Rajeeb Hazra, President and CEO, in a press release. “This collaboration with the Department of Commerce is designed to help Quantinuum’s path to large-scale, fault-tolerant trapped-ion systems while strengthening the U.S. innovation and manufacturing ecosystem.”
