Quantinuum, Rolls-Royce, Riverlane and EPCC, the UK National Supercomputing Centre based at the University of Edinburgh, have signed an agreement to explore the quantum computing capabilities needed in future industrial workflows, such as gas turbine design.
Complex fluid dynamics simulations are central to gas turbine design, but they can require substantial computing resources as models become more detailed.
In what is expected to be a multi-year collaboration, the partners will explore how fault-tolerant quantum computers could work alongside supercomputers to address this bottleneck and model fluid dynamics inside gas turbines.
Under the agreement, Quantinuum will provide access to its quantum systems and software environment; Rolls-Royce will contribute industrial design use cases and domain expertise; Riverlane will contribute quantum error correction and algorithmic expertise; and EPCC will contribute supercomputing expertise and hybrid workflow integration.
EPCC’s role includes exploring how different parts of an algorithm can be compiled, emulated and executed across classical and quantum resources, including pre- and post-processing steps required for hybrid compute workflows.
The collaborators plan to test key computational building blocks for industrially relevant quantum algorithms on Quantinuum’s Helios quantum computer and assess how these could scale on planned future systems.
“The computing demands of simulating complex fluid dynamics are a major challenge in industrial design, and exploring how quantum computing can complement today’s supercomputers is an important step toward addressing them,” said Dr. Rajeeb Hazra, president and CEO of Quantinuum.
“This collaboration will help develop and test the hybrid quantum-classical algorithms needed for future industrial applications.”
The project builds on prior collaborations between Rolls-Royce, Riverlane and EPCC that laid the foundations for understanding key algorithmic, error correction and data requirements for tackling fluid dynamic simulations with commercial quantum computers.
