BMW Group, Airbus and Quantinuum Collaborate to Fast-Track Sustainable Mobility Research Using Cutting-Edge Quantum Computers
The joint group has developed a hybrid quantum-classical workflow, focusing on the chemical reactions of catalysts in fuel cells
Munich, Germany; Toulouse, France; and Cambridge, UK, August 2nd, 2023 — Airbus, BMW Group and Quantinuum, world leaders in mobility and quantum technologies, have developed a hybrid quantum-classical workflow to speed up future research using quantum computers to simulate quantum systems, focusing on the chemical reactions of catalysts in fuel cells.
In a new technical paper, "Applicability of Quantum Computing to Oxygen Reduction Reaction Simulations“, the three partners report accurately modeling the oxygen reduction reaction ("ORR") on the surface of a platinum-based catalyst. The ORR is the chemical reaction in the process that converts hydrogen and oxygen into water and electricity in a fuel cell and it limits the efficiency of the process. It is relatively slow and requires a large amount of platinum catalyst, so there is great interest and value in better understanding the underlying mechanisms involved in the reaction.
Using Quantinuum's H-Series quantum computer, the collaboration team has demonstrated the applicability of quantum computing in an industrial workflow to enhance our understanding of a critical chemical reaction. The three companies plan further collaboration to explore the use of quantum computing to address relevant industrial challenges.
Dr. Peter Lehnert, Vice-President, Research Technologies at BMW Group stated: “Circularity and sustainable mobility are putting us on a quest for new materials, to create more efficient products and shape the future premium user experience. Being able to simulate material properties to relevant chemical accuracy with the benefits from the accelerating quantum computing hardware is giving us just the right tools for more speed in innovation for this decisive domain.”
As a pioneer in the global automotive market BMW Group recognizes the transformative potential of quantum computing and its importance in researching new materials, where it can enable faster and more efficient processes while reducing lab prototypes. Approaching and accurately simulating one of the most fundamental electrochemical processes for the first time using quantum computing marks a substantial step towards the sustainable energy transition, benefiting metal-air batteries, and other products with enhanced efficiency.
Isabell Gradert, Vice-President, Central Research & Technology at Airbus said: “We can clearly envision the benefits of the study in our quest for sustainable and hydrogen powered alternatives such as the ZEROe aircraft, which may operate on fuel cell engines. The study confirms that quantum computing is maturing at the scale we need for aviation.”
Airbus has identified hydrogen as a promising candidate to power low-carbon aircraft, because it emits no CO2 when flying, when generated from renewable energy. The company previously announced plans to start testing a hydrogen-powered fuel cell propulsion system onboard its ZEROe demonstrator aircraft in the next few years. The company has the ambition to develop the world’s first hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft for market entry by 2035.
Ilyas Khan, Chief Product Officer, Quantinuum said: “We have been excited to be working for some time now to support the BMW Group and Airbus, both leaders in their fields, and both of whom recognize that quantum computing could play a pivotal role in advancing future sustainable mobility. In this pioneering work, we demonstrate how to integrate quantum computing into the industrial workflows of two of the world's most technologically advanced companies, tackling material science problems that are a prime target for progress using quantum computing."
The research team hopes that understanding the ORR reaction provides insights that help them identify alternative materials that may improve the performance and reduce the production costs of fuel cells. Modeling chemical reactions such as the ORR accurately is an intractable task for classical computers, due to the quantum properties of the chemical mechanisms involved, making such simulations a good candidate to benefit from a potential quantum advantage in the future.
About Quantinuum
Quantinuum is the world’s largest standalone quantum computing company, formed by the combination of Honeywell Quantum Solutions’ world-leading hardware and Cambridge Quantum’s class-leading middleware and applications. Science-led and enterprise-driven, Quantinuum accelerates quantum computing and the development of applications across chemistry, cybersecurity, finance and optimization. Its focus is to create scalable and commercial quantum solutions to solve the world’s most pressing problems in fields such as energy, logistics, climate change, and health. The company employs over 480 individuals, including 350+ scientists and engineers, at eight sites across the United States, Europe, and Japan. For more information, please visit https://www.quantinuum.com. The Honeywell trademark is used under license from Honeywell International Inc. Honeywell makes no representations or warranties with respect to this service.
The BMW Group
With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services. The BMW Group production network comprises over 30 production sites worldwide; the company has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.
In 2022, the BMW Group sold nearly 2.4 million passenger vehicles and more than 202,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax in the financial year 2022 was € 23.5 billion on revenues amounting to € 142.6 billion. As of 31 December 2022, the BMW Group had a workforce of 149,475 employees.
The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company set the course for the future at an early stage and consistently makes sustainability and efficient resource management central to its strategic direction, from the supply chain through production to the end of the use phase of all products.
About Airbus
Airbus pioneers sustainable aerospace for a safe and united world. The Company constantly innovates to provide the most efficient and technologically-advanced solutions in aerospace, defence, and connected services. In commercial aircraft, Airbus offers the most modern and fuel-efficient airliners. Airbus is also a European leader in defence and security and one of the world's leading space businesses. In helicopters, Airbus provides the most efficient civil and military rotorcraft solutions worldwide.
About Quantinuum
Quantinuum, the world’s largest integrated quantum company, pioneers powerful quantum computers and advanced software solutions. Quantinuum’s technology drives breakthroughs in materials discovery, cybersecurity, and next-gen quantum AI. With over 500 employees, including 370+ scientists and engineers, Quantinuum leads the quantum computing revolution across continents.
Broomfield, Colorado, November 19th, 2024 – Quantinuum, the world’s largest and leading integrated quantum computing company, has been recognized by Fast Company as a winner in the 2024 Next Big Things in Tech Awards in the Computing, Chips, and Foundational Technology category. In its fourth year, the list honors technology breakthroughs that promise to shape the future of our society. This prestigious accolade underscores Quantinuum’s advancements with its System Model H2 quantum processor, the latest in a series of groundbreaking announcements.
Quantinuum’s H2 Quantum Processor: A Breakthrough in Quantum Computing
Launched in 2023 and upgraded in 2024, the H2 quantum processor represents a major advancement in quantum computing. As the most benchmarked system with the highest quantum volume in the industry, H2 is a testament to Quantinuum’s path in leading the world to universal, fully fault tolerant quantum computing future.
"The System Model H2 represents a significant leap in computing, demonstrating capabilities that can no longer be fully simulated by classical computers." said Dr. Rajeeb Hazra, President & CEO of Quantinuum. "Its unique design has led to significant achievements, including the creation of 12 reliable logical qubits and a 100-fold enhancement in a key quantum computing benchmark, Random Circuit Sampling (RCS). These results have made our systems integral to hybrid quantum computing workflows, combining our high performing quantum systems with leading AI and HPC solutions.”
These innovations have the potential to revolutionize fields like chemistry, drug discovery, and financial forecasting, demonstrating the far-reaching implications of Quantinuum's work.
Roadmap to Universal, Fully Fault Tolerant Quantum Computing
Quantinuum recently unveiled its accelerated roadmap to achieve universal fault-tolerant quantum computing in 2029. This integrated path not only emphasizes hardware advancements but also focuses on critical software capabilities that are essential for delivering full-stack quantum computing and hybrid quantum computing solutions.
Quantinuum’s next system, Helios, will launch in 2025 with 96 qubits and will help to unlock scientific advances that will surpass classical computing results.
About Quantinuum
Quantinuum, the world’s largest integrated quantum computing company, pioneers powerful quantum computers and advanced software solutions. Quantinuum’s technology drives breakthroughs in materials discovery, cybersecurity, and next-gen quantum AI. With over 500 employees, including 370+ scientists and engineers, Quantinuum leads the quantum computing revolution across continents.
- First successful delivery of quantum tokens using commercial QKD hardware, demonstrating fast transaction verification at the point of exchange - a crucial step toward quantum-enhanced financial security and a major advance for QKD.
- Quantum tokens are designed to provide unforgeability, privacy, and fast settlement, in a single financial instrument. No previous technology can deliver these three combined benefits.
- In the world’s first implementation using off-the-shelf hardware, quantum tokens were transmitted across 10km of fibre in Tokyo, using commercial quantum key distribution (QKD) devices provided by NEC*.
- This is a pivotal step towards the deployment of ultra-high-security quantum tokens in use cases such as tokenized asset security and high-speed trading.
Tokyo, Japan and Broomfield, Colorado - November 18th, 2024 – In a long anticipated trial, Quantinuum ("Quantinuum", Head Office: Broomfield, Colorado, U.S.A., CEO: Rajeeb Hazra), together with Mitsui & Co., Ltd. ("Mitsui", Head Office: Tokyo, President and CEO: Kenichi Hori) and NEC ("NEC", Head Office: Tokyo, President and CEO: Takayuki Morita) today announced the successful delivery of quantum tokens across a 10km fibre-optic network in Japan. This is the first time such a delivery has been accomplished.
Quantum tokens are a new financial instrument that take advantage of the properties of quantum physics to meet the robust demands of asset trading without the communication overheads required by traditional financial systems. Quantum tokens are transmitted across fibre-optic quantum key distribution (QKD) networks, which are rapidly expanding around the globe. Today's announcement with Mitsui demonstrates growing industry recognition of quantum tokens' potential in financial services.
Ilyas Khan, Founder and Chief Product Officer at Quantinuum, said: “The original motivation for quantum communications was the exchange of money, as envisaged by Stephen Wiesner. Today, we have demonstrated real-world security enhancements for financial systems using off-the-shelf quantum communications hardware. This opens the door to a new era in quantum-enhanced security with wide applicability, providing commercial organisations with something concrete to utilise.”
Koji Naniwada, Deputy General Manager, Quantum Innovation Dept. at Mitsui, said: “Quantum tokens will increase the security of digital assets, while improving transaction performance and maintaining privacy. These topics are critical for our customers and partners in the financial sector and this demonstration is a valuable outcome of our partnership with Quantinuum.”
Naoki Ishida, Director with the Trading and Service Solution Department at NEC, said: “We are the first to provide a platform for realizing a quantum token system using NEC’s quantum key distribution (QKD) devices. Based on the results of this trial between Mitsui & Co. and Quantinuum, we will continue to work towards the social implementation of quantum cryptography technology.”
Quantum tokens are designed to use quantum physics to prevent forgery, while ensuring transactions can be settled near-instantly, whereas traditional payments systems rely on double-entry bookkeeping to prevent double-spending of funds. This adds time, overhead and risk to every transaction, as digital systems are consulted to confirm funds are available and to settle transactions.
Quantum tokens instead rely on the no-cloning theorem of quantum physics to prevent forgeries and double-spending. Only the intended recipient will receive the correct token data, which can only be spent at one location in the future. This enables near-instant transaction settlement by removing the need to check multiple systems or wait for network confirmations.
As demonstrated in Quantinuum’s recent work with HSBC, securing digital assets in the quantum-age is growing in urgency. The financial sector is increasingly looking to quantum technology to solve these complex problems with the power of nature.
Learn more about this new frontier of financial security, powered by quantum, in our whitepaper.
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Note:
(*) The equipment provided by NEC was partially supported by results from Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ (MIC) “Research and development for construction of a global quantum cryptography network”(JPJ008957) under “R&D of ICT Priority Technology Project” (JPMI00316) and Japan’s Cabinet Office’s "Photonics and Quantum Technology for Society 5.0" project under the Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP).
About Mitsui
Mitsui & Co. is a global trading and investment company with a presence in more than 60 countries and a diverse business portfolio covering a wide range of industries.
The company identifies, develops, and grows its businesses in partnership with a global network of trusted partners including world leading companies, combining its geographic and cross-industry strengths to create long-term sustainable value for its stakeholders.
Mitsui has set three key strategic initiatives for its current Medium-term Management Plan: supporting industries to grow and evolve with stable supplies of resources and materials, and providing infrastructure; promoting a global transition to low-carbon and renewable energy; and empowering people to lead healthy lives through the delivery of quality healthcare and access to good nutrition.
Visit https://www.mitsui.com/jp/en/index.html for more information.
About Quantinuum
Quantinuum, the world’s largest integrated quantum company, pioneers powerful quantum computers and advanced software solutions. Quantinuum’s technology drives breakthroughs in materials discovery, cybersecurity, and next-gen quantum AI. With over 500 employees, including 370+ scientists and engineers, Quantinuum leads the quantum computing revolution across continents.
About NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation has established itself as a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies while promoting the brand statement of “Orchestrating a brighter world.” NEC enables businesses and communities to adapt to rapid changes taking place in both society and the market as it provides for the social values of safety, security, fairness and efficiency to promote a more sustainable world where everyone has the chance to reach their full potential. For more information, visit NEC at http://www.nec.com.