IonQ and Chattanooga-based EPB are planning to build the Tennessee Quantum Communications Research Center, intended to be the first dedicated next-generation quantum communication R&D innovation lab directly connected to a real-world network.
“Interconnecting quantum computers at multiple locations and linking them directly to end users lays the foundation for the full suite of applications of quantum communications,” said IonQ chairman and CEO Niccolo de Masi.
He said, quantum memories that store and process quantum information over fiber channels are essential building blocks for transforming quantum machines into more powerful long-range architectures.
“Establishing a quantum memory R&D capability that sits atop a working fiber optic network will speed the development and deployment of innovative quantum technologies to accelerate commercialization of the quantum internet, driving economic growth and job creation within participating communities,” said de Masi.
Rising in Chattanooga and staffed by IonQ scientists, the R&D lab will house the world’s first commercial quantum memory embedded within an operational communications network.
Quantum memory could help quantum computers and networks reliably share information across long distances, an important step toward connecting quantum systems in ways that support real-world commercial applications.
The initiative will be funded through a five-year $15 million commitment from IonQ, bringing some of the world’s foremost experts in quantum memories to Chattanooga to catalyze the local talent ecosystem.
EPB will provide the live network development test bed and serve as the primary commercialization partner, translating the laboratory’s groundbreaking R&D into use-cases for both the public and private sector in the greater Tennessee Valley corridor.
The Tennessee Quantum Communications Research Center’s work will pave the way for EPB’s plans to interlink quantum computers, quantum research nodes and related commercial facilities, expanding the state’s already deep commitment to hosting a unique and expansive quantum ecosystem.
“This agreement reflects a shared commitment to turning quantum innovation into real-world economic and commercial value,” said IonQ’s COO and CFO Inder Singh.
EPB president and CEO-elect Janet Rehberg said that by partnering with IonQ, her company will connect those efforts through real-world quantum networking capabilities and bring some of the world’s most advanced quantum memory expertise to Chattanooga.
The Tennessee Quantum Communications Research Center builds on the strategic collaboration EPB and IonQ established through their shared work to advance commercial quantum computing at the EPB Quantum Center.
The partners project that the Center itself will have a positive impact on the wider Tennessee economy totaling up to two to three times their $15 million investment, and supporting roughly two dozen jobs including research scientists, trainees and indirect and induced employment.
The EPB Quantum Center is home to EPB Quantum Network, which IonQ supports, as well as an IonQ Forte Enterprise quantum computer that is being prepared for commercial deployment.
Based on research by University of Tennessee, EPB’s quantum assets are projected to generate up to $1.1 billion in community benefit in Chattanooga over the next 10 years.
