Expansion of IBM's utility-scale fleet of quantum computers
in Ehningen, Germany is
marked with ribbon-cutting by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and industry leaders.
New IBM quantum data center in Europe will soon include IBM Quantum
Heron-based system with reduced error rates, 16 times better
performance and a 25-fold increase in speed over 2022 IBM Quantum
systems.
European-based enterprises and research institutions
including Crédit Mutuel, Bosch, E.ON, Volkswagen Group, and
Ikerbasque are accessing IBM global quantum fleet in quest to
advance quantum algorithm discovery.
EHNINGEN, Germany, Oct. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Alongside German
Chancellor Olaf Scholz, senior European government officials
and European-based global enterprises, IBM (NYSE: IBM) today
unveiled the first IBM Quantum Data Center located outside of
the United States. It is the
company's second quantum data center in the world and marks a
significant expansion of its fleet of advanced, utility-scale
quantum systems available to global users via the cloud.
Now online in Ehningen, Germany, Europe's first IBM Quantum Data Center
includes two new utility-scale, IBM Quantum Eagle-based systems,
and will soon feature a new IBM Quantum Heron-based system. These
systems are capable of performing computations beyond the
brute-force simulation capabilities of classical computers.
First introduced late last year, IBM Heron is the company's most
performant quantum chip yet, and advances the company's mission of
bringing useful quantum computing to the world by enabling users to
increase the complexity of algorithms they are exploring on real
quantum hardware.
When the IBM Heron-based system is made available at the IBM
Quantum Data Center in Europe, it
will be the third IBM Heron installed across IBM's fleet of quantum
systems that can be accessed by the company's global quantum
network of more than 250 enterprises, universities, research
institutions, and organizations. IBM Heron offers up to a 16-fold
increase in performance and 25-fold increase in speed over previous
IBM quantum computers as they were measured two years ago.
When it is deployed alongside the now-available utility-scale
systems installed in the new IBM Quantum Data Center, the IBM
Heron-based system will expand the more than a dozen quantum
computers IBM currently offers through the cloud – the largest
fleet of its kind in the world.
The opening of the new quantum data center was celebrated at a
ribbon-cutting event attended by senior government officials,
including German Chancellor Olaf
Scholz and Dr. Nicole
Hoffmeister-Kraut, Minister for Economic Affairs, Labour,
and Tourism, State of Baden-Württemberg. IBM CEO and Chairman
Arvind Krishna gave remarks
alongside Chancellor Scholz, and the Chancellor also spoke at
length with IBM leaders including Dario
Gil, IBM Senior Vice President and Director of Research;
Ana Paula Assis, General Manager of
IBM EMEA; Jay Gambetta, Vice
President of IBM Quantum; and IBM Quantum's German-based team about
the importance of quantum computing's adoption and growth in the
region.
Additionally, the landmark moment was attended by several senior
leaders of European-based global enterprises, including Crédit
Mutuel, Bosch, E.ON, Volkswagen Group, and others, as well as
research institutions such as Ikerbasque in Spain and Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. These
organizations are among the more than 80 European-based
organizations within the IBM Quantum Network, many of which have
the opportunity to access the systems within the IBM Quantum Data
Center in Europe to search for the
algorithms and applications of quantum computing that could solve
some of the most complex challenges across their industries.
"The opening of the IBM Quantum Data Center in Ehningen is good
news for Germany. It will serve as
a location for innovation and business growth, and is an expression
of investors' confidence in the German market. IBM enriches the
German quantum computing landscape with this new data center. The
German government is providing targeted support for the development
of quantum technologies. It is thereby driving forward the
development of competencies and capacities in quantum computing in
order to promote a robust ecosystem around the development of
quantum computers," said Olaf
Scholz, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany.
"The opening of our first IBM Quantum Data Center in
Europe marks a pivotal moment for
the region's technological development, demonstrates our commitment
to Europe, and underscores the key
role of collaboration with industry, academia and policymakers for
a pan-European quantum ecosystem. This state-of-the-art facility
will foster innovation around quantum computing, creating new
opportunities for talent attraction and ensuring that Europe remains at the forefront of global
technological advancements," said Ana
Paula Assis, General Manager and Chairman of IBM Europe,
Middle East and Africa.
"Our collaboration with IBM for the 'scaling' phase of quantum
computing is progressing according to plan. We are working to
develop concrete applications that improve the experience of our
customer and members, and create value for the Group's businesses,"
said Frantz Rublé, President of Euro-Information and Deputy
Chief Executive Officer of Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale.
"The availability of this quantum data center on European soil
addresses our constraints in terms of processing proximity and
Crédit Mutuel's approach to regulatory compliance. And it also
means we can look forward to the next stages of the quantum project
with confidence at Crédit Mutuel, CIC and then at Targobank."
"We believe that enabling our scientists and engineers to tackle
demanding problems in materials sciences, high-energy physics, and
biosciences through quantum computing, and providing
state-of-the-art quantum computing access will be key to make
disruptive progress in all those disciplines," said Javier Aizpurua, Ikerbasque professor, Donostia
International Physics Center (DIPC) and director of BasQ. "A
combined use of quantum computing, AI, and data science, if
generalized, will give rise to a scenario of new possibilities not
only in fundamental research but also in industrial
innovation."
"Bosch aims to drive innovation in the field of material
simulation using quantum computing. In partnership with IBM
Quantum, our team is creating scalable algorithms that aim to
revolutionize product development. This includes the creation of
new materials for sustainable, carbon-free mobility and the
reduction of rare earth elements," said Dr. Thomas Kropf, President of Corporate Sector
Research and Advance Engineering, Robert Bosch GmbH. "The
European IBM Quantum Data Center allows us to run quantum
calculations in close proximity, supporting Bosch's approach to
compliance with European data protection regulations. This
accelerates our research and development efforts and bolsters the
European quantum ecosystem, paving the way for advancements in
mobility, healthcare, and sustainable technologies."
"E.ON is investigating quantum computing to tackle energy
transition challenges, including large-scale optimization, complex
scenario modeling, and quantum machine learning. IBM's first
European Quantum Data Center's location is also helpful for
EU/German public funding opportunities, which may be available for
local access to quantum computational resources and on-site
expertise. This milestone underscores Europe's and Germany's leadership in quantum computing and
marks a significant advancement in propelling enterprises into the
quantum era," said Chris d'Arcy, Managing Director, E.ON Digital
Technology GmbH and Chief Data and AI Officer.
"Quantum computing can be the next big thing to solve problems
in material science, traffic optimization, or deep learning, that
may change the world. IBM's Quantum Data Center in Europe provides access to their unique quantum
infrastructure and thus, represents an indispensable another piece
of the bridge between quantum computers and industrial application
at scale. We are proud to be part of that journey to utilize
quantum computing for the transformation into future sustainable
and smart mobility," said Dr. Nikolai Ardey, Executive Director,
Volkswagen Group Innovation.
"Algorithmiq is pioneering the integration of quantum computing,
artificial intelligence (AI), and network science to solve the
world's most complex problems in chemistry, healthcare and life
sciences. To accomplish this, we need algorithms and scale. This is
why we've partnered with IBM on both counts: our groundbreaking
error mitigation algorithm, TEM, available through the Qiskit
Functions Catalog, is proven to be optimal in extending
the scale and accuracy of quantum simulations. And now, with more
IBM quantum systems available in Europe, we're excited to further strengthen
our ties in Europe and partner
with an even larger ecosystem of industries, organizations,
developers, and scientists to demonstrate TEM's utility — and
progress toward quantum advantage," said Sabrina Maniscalco, CEO of Algorithmiq.
IBM recently published evidence that Qiskit is the world's
leading and most performant quantum software. Together with access
to IBM's advanced quantum hardware, IBM's ecosystem of users across
Europe and globally can access
tools and systems that can help them to more easily advance the
discovery of algorithms that could open the doorway to useful
quantum computing and reach quantum advantage: the point at which a
quantum computer can solve a practical problem better than any
classical method.
The IBM Quantum Data Center in Europe can be accessed through the IBM Quantum
Platform, continuing IBM's mission to enable the development of
quantum computing use cases and to support clients as they press
forward with algorithm discovery in the era of quantum utility, and
towards quantum advantage.
About IBM
IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business
services provider, helping clients in more than 175 countries
capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business
processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their
industries. Nearly 4,000 government and corporate entities in
critical infrastructure areas such as financial services,
telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud
platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital
transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM's
breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing,
industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver
open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by
IBM's commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility,
inclusivity and service. For more information, visit
www.ibm.com.
Media Contact:
Erin Angelini
edlehr@us.ibm.com
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