Speaker
Description
As the maturity of quantum computing technologies increases, Europe is solidifying its position as a global player in the sector through the strategic integration of quantum processing units (QPUs) with world-class High-Performance Computing (HPC) infrastructures. This talk explores the rapidly evolving quantum landscape, moving from theoretical architectures to the tangible state of the art in 2026.
At the heart of this transition is the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (JU), which has deployed a federation of six flagship quantum computers across key hosting sites: Italy (CINECA), Germany (LRZ), France (GENCI), Spain (BSC), Czechia (IT4I), and Poland (PCSS). Each site serves as a hosting entity for a diverse range of European-developed technologies. We will examine the specific role of CINECA, where two machines are being tightly coupled to the Leonardo supercomputer to enable hybrid workflows. The former is a 54-qubit IQM superconducting quantum computer, while the latter is a 140-qubit Pasqal Neutral Atom quantum simulator.
Beyond CINECA, the talk will map other significant installations within Italy, such as the IQM "Lagrange" system at the Politecnico di Torino, or the 64-qubit Partenope machine built in the context of the Naples Quantum Bay at Federico II University. The talk will also discuss the major European industrial players driving this hardware sovereignty, including IQM Quantum Computers (Finland), which focuses on Superconducting qubits; Pasqal (France), utilizing Neutral Atom technology; Quandela (France), developing Photonic processors; and Qilimanjaro (Spain), which works with Superconducting-based Quantum Annealing architectures.
The session will conclude with an analysis of potential use cases. These include combinatorial optimization for logistics management, molecular dynamics and chemical simulations, and the implementation of Quantum Machine Learning (QML) algorithms, all of which benefit from the low-latency, co-localized integration of QPUs with pre-exascale classical power.