Hitachi has been selected as the prospective implementer of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization’s (NEDO) Post-5G Information and Communication System Infrastructure Enhancement R&D Project theme titled “Accelerating the Development and Demonstration of Next-Generation Quantum Computers to Solve Social Challenges.”
This project was jointly proposed by Hitachi and Intel K.K., the Japanese subsidiary of Intel, and builds on the comprehensive strategic collaboration previously announced by Hitachi and Intel.
Following its selection, Hitachi will advance the project through joint research with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). The project period is scheduled to run until March 2029.
Hitachi is working to establish foundational technologies for the design, manufacturing, and integration of qubit chips based on semiconductor mass-production processes.
To realize practical quantum computing, Hitachi is accelerating research and development of large-scale, highly reliable silicon quantum computers with a view toward mass production, while building next-generation computing infrastructure to help address social challenges. Through these efforts, Hitachi aims to create new solutions and bring them into practical use in society.
In this project, Hitachi will integrate the design of qubit chips, 3D integration, and cloud operation to establish a quantum device manufacturing and system design foundation with an eye toward mass production processes.
Through this, Hitachi aims to build the design, manufacturing, and operational infrastructure necessary for the realization of large-scale, highly reliable silicon quantum computers in the future. The main development items are as follows.
One is the design and packaging technologies for industrial-quality 100-qubit silicon quantum computers. Hitachi will design chip structures in collaboration with Intel to ensure stable operation of qubits.
Hitachi aims to establish the foundational technologies necessary for the design and implementation of chips equipped with 100 qubits or more.
Second is the development of a process design kit (PDK) for industrial-quality 100-qubit silicon quantum computers. Through a qubit chip PDK developed by Intel, Hitachi will be able to advance chip design with a focus on mass production, taking into account actual manufacturing conditions.
Third, the development of 3D integration technology for 1,000-qubit Silicon Quantum Computers. To address the challenges of wiring and mounting area arising from the increase in qubit count, Hitachi will develop high-density mounting technology for quantum computers used in ultra-low temperature environments.
Fourth is the system development for cloud deployment of silicon quantum computers. Hitachi and AIST will develop a cloud system compatible with experimental environments for silicon quantum computers and aim to make it available through the Global Research and Development Center for Business by Quantum-AI Technology (“G-QuAT”), AIST.
This will enable external researchers and engineers to utilize experimental environments for qubit chips and control devices, which is expected to improve R&D efficiency.
Shigetoshi Samejima, CTO and GM of the research & development group at Hitachi, said that with the advancement of AI, demand for computing that supports society and industry is expanding rapidly.
“At the same time, challenges are becoming more apparent, including rising power consumption in computing infrastructure such as data centers, as well as optimization issues in drug discovery, materials development, energy systems, logistics, and supply chains that are difficult to address with conventional computing alone,” said Samejima.
“Hitachi positions quantum computers as a strategic technology that can break through the limits of computation itself and support future social infrastructure and industrial systems,” he added.
Makoto Ohno, president of Intel K.K., said that through this collaboration, Intel and Hitachi are bringing together Intel’s advanced semiconductor process and design expertise with Hitachi’s quantum R&D capabilities to help establish the foundational chip design, manufacturing and packaging technologies needed to move silicon quantum computing from research demonstration toward scalable industrial application.
Masahiro Horibe, deputy director of G-QuAT, AIST, said that they are equipped with evaluation capabilities for quantum devices and a demonstration environment for a fusion computing platform combining quantum computers and supercomputers.
Based on the foundational technologies for qubit-chip design, implementation, and cloud operation developed through this project, Hitachi aims to launch the cloud service by fiscal year 2027 and then roll out services in stages.
At the same time, as important milestones toward practical application, Hitachi will work to realize prototype silicon quantum computers implementing quantum error-correcting codes at the 100-qubit scale in fiscal 2028 and at the 1,000-qubit scale in fiscal 2030.
