Positioning Quantum Ireland

Seizing the future with Quantum Computing

Ireland has a rich history of pioneering contributions in the field of quantum science. From the mathematical foundations laid by Dublin physicist William Rowan Hamilton (1805-1865), who created Hamiltonian mechanics which is the basis for quantum physics.

The pioneering efforts of Belfast physicist John Bell (1928-1990), who in 1964 demonstrated Einstein’s view on quantum theory incorrect and set the stage for quantum computing.  Today, Ireland continues this tradition with Indigenous organisations, such as Equal1, as well as publicly funded R&D institutions, like ICHEC, that are at the forefront of the quantum technology revolution. This ongoing commitment underscores Ireland’s significant role in shaping the global landscape of quantum science and technology.

To continue to propel this momentum,  the Irish Government launched their ‘Quantum 2030 – A National Quantum Technologies Strategy for Ireland’. Aligning with other nations in this transformative technology, the National Quantum Technologies Strategy is a transformative strategy to position Ireland as a leading international hub in Quantum Technologies by 2030.

Its vision entails strengthening Ireland’s position at the forefront of scientific and engineering advances, achieved through a commitment to research, talent cultivation, strategic collaboration and forward-thinking innovation.  The strategy supports 5 key pillars outlined in Figure 1.

Positioning quantum computing

Why did the Irish Government introduce national strategies on quantum technologies?

What motivates countries and large technology organizations to invest in this technology?

Addressing these questions requires an appreciation of the value proposition of quantum computing —the capacity to rapidly process extensive data and perform intricate calculations.  The computational power is propelled by the fundamental principles of quantum physics.  Traditional computers, that power our laptops, mobile phones and High Performance Computer systems (at national labs and commercial cloud services), use bits – either ‘1’ or ‘0’.

A quantum computer, using the laws of quantum physics, drives a completely new approach. The fundamental component of a quantum computer is a quantum bit or a qubit.  Like bits, qubits can occupy a state of ‘0’ or ‘1’.  However, qubits can represent any combination of both zero and one simultaneously — a phenomenon of quantum physics known as superposition.

Superposition is a key feature that empowers quantum computers to process information in parallel.  It describes the situation where a qubit is in a combination of multiple position states at the same time. Therefore, the power of quantum computing comes from the principles of quantum physics where a qubit can be ‘1’, ‘0’, but also any combination (known as a superposition of these states).

This leads up to another key concept in quantum computing, which is that the act of observing a superposition will collapse it to either ‘0’ or ‘1’. Thus, with respect to quantum computing, though many computations can be carried out in parallel, you may observe only one of the results at a time.

Another key principle of quantum physics that is critical to the power of quantum computing is Entanglement.  This occurs when 2 quantum systems are connected, and a change in one system has an instantaneous change on another.  As more qubits are introduced, the states a qubit can occupy double, further enhancing computational capabilities.

Positioning quantum computing for business adoption

Whilst the technology is very young yet powerful, what does it mean for business?

Why should businesses be concerned?

According to the McKinsey Quantum Technology Monitor report, the potential quantum technology market by 2040 will be $106B. McKinsey notes that in 2022, total annual quantum technology start-up investment hit a high of $2.35B, with 68% of all quantum technology start-up investment since 2001 occurring between 2021 and 2022.  Figure 2 provides an overview of the Quantum Computing start-up in 2022, based on public investments in start-ups recorded on PitchBook and announced in the press.

Figure 2 from Zapata’s 2nd Annual Report on Enterprise Quantum Computing Adoption indicates that the pace of adoption of quantum technology is reported to be quicker compared to that of AI.  Additionally, 49% of respondents say they are adopting quantum more quickly than they did with AI.  The report states that the “faster pace of adoption is surely related to the exponential future benefits that enterprises expect from quantum computing”.

While the potential of quantum computing is considerable, today’s quantum computers face significant hurdles in the form of instability attributed to a quantum phenomenon known as decoherence. Decoherence occurs when a qubit loses its capacity to existing in a superposition of multiple states.  This leads to an intermediate state for quantum computers, where real world use-cases are feasible but fall short of realize the full potential of quantum computing.

This current phase in quantum computing is recognised as Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) technology. Nevertheless, the utilization and growth of quantum computing persists. The number of qubits varies depending on the underlying architecture, design, and the use case it is supporting. As of the time of writing, Atom Computing announced the launch of a quantum computer containing 1,180 qubits.   Whilst D-Wave have launched Advantage, boasting 5,000 qubits.

Despite these challenges, Quantum computers are foreseen to hold massive disruptive potential for certain tasks and applications, which drives the significant valuations that McKinsey and others have predicted.  There are 5 main verticals where quantum computing are foreseen to have significant impact;

—  Factorization – the mathematical process of factorisation involves finding the prime numbers that, when multiplied together, provide the a given number.  Clearly, this is a simple task when you are looking at the prime factors of 9 (3×3).  However, this relatively simple tasks for small numbers, becomes very difficult for large numbers.  Large number factorisation is the basis of RSA encryption, the fundamental building blocks of secure encrypted communications over the internet.

A report from CEDS on ‘Quantum Technologies and Cybersecurity’ states that, “quantum computer could break a large fraction of widely used cryptographic algorithms, breaching confidential data … Current quantum computers are too small to be a threat. Still, the arrival of large quantum computers threatens a great deal of cryptography, and as a consequence, the security of the internet”.

—  Quantum Simulation – Quantum simulation is a prime focus area for quantum computing.  Simulations can model the behaviour of molecules and other materials at the quantum level.  Thus providing an experimental framework for the development of new drugs, materials, and understanding chemical reactions.  Indeed Richard Feynman, one of the leading influential figures in quantum physics in the 20th century said, “Nature isn’t classical, dammit, and if you want to make a simulation of nature, you’d better make it quantum mechanical”.

In a recent article, researchers from Accenture, IonQ and ICHEC investigated a powerful method for using quantum computers to study the properties of molecules. This can have a significant impact on various fields like drug discovery and the development of advanced materials. Traditional computers struggle to accurately solve the complex equations that describe the behaviour of molecules, especially large ones. Quantum computers, inspired by the challenges of simulating quantum mechanics, offer a promising solution.

—  Optimization – Optimization covers various disciplines from logistics to finance and artificial intelligence. The objective of optimization processes is to reduce the effort function based on a number of parameters.  Quantum computers are prime for this area as the vastly superior processing power enables a wider range of parameters in a much faster timeframe.

Within financial services, quantum computing can play a significant role. Citi GPS states that quantum computers “are expected to improve targeting and prediction, portfolio optimization, risk management, and fraud detection. The use of [quantum computers] is expected to improve the performance of Monte Carlo-based options pricing, portfolio optimization, and dynamic arbitrage. It is thought that [quantum computers] could help overcome the limitations of existing analytical models to sift through large amounts of behavioural data, enabling financial institutions to offer more personalized products and services to customers in real time”

—  Quantum Machine Learning and AI –  For many organizations, there has been a significant growth and adoption of AI applications.  What underlines AI is the processing of large data sets required to support the training and the validation of the AI model.  For example, neural networks can support the clustering and classification of large and complex datasets by adjusting the weights in the network through the training process. Quantum computers can be used to simulate and enhance the training of  these models.

Researchers in IBM note that quantum computers can provide an advantage over their classical counterparts.  “A quantum advantage refers to solving practically relevant problems better or faster with a quantum computer than with the best classical computer employing the best-known classical algorithm … A study based on effective dimension shows that a quantum neural network can have increased capability and trainability as compared to its classical counterpart”.

—  Sampling and Search – Whilst quantum computing was first proposed by Richard Feynman in 1981, one of the seminal  milestones in the developments of quantum computing was the development of a search algorithm by Lov Grover in 1996.  The objective of Grover’s algorithm is to conduct search activities significantly quicker than their traditional counterparts.

In the Harvard Business Review Quantum Computing for Business Leaders, the authors note the use case where Grover’s algorithm can be applied to genomic technologies, which identify “genetic cardiac disorders and offering great potential for real-time detection and surveillance of epidemics. These technologies need lots of computer power. Every time researchers map a DNA sequence to a reference genome, they must perform a massive search on classical computers. Grover’s algorithm could greatly accelerate the speed of these searches, but they can be run only on a functional quantum computer”.

The McKinsey Quantum Technology Monitor report provides the following summary of the industries and use-cases quantum computing can be applied too;

Positioning Ireland to harness the opportunities from quantum computing

What does Ireland need to do to drive value from this maturing technology?

How can Ireland become a forerunner?

In the ongoing race to channel the power of qubits and unlock the full potential of quantum computers, Ireland finds itself at a crucial crossroads with the potential to emerge as a pioneer in quantum technology..  The following are key considerations for Ireland to be a pioneer in this frontier;

i. Education – A fundamental pillar in the implementation of this technology is education.  When examining the educational requirements, it is crucial that it encompasses a broad spectrum.  Important as they are, it should not solely target PhD graduates in quantum physics, mathematics and computer science.  Indeed, it should support a broader audience: business leaders to comprehend how the technology can be applied, technology leaders seeking to grasp the inner workings, and upskilling technology professionals to empower them to drive this agenda forward.

Indeed training and education programmes to support this are already available.  Programme’s such as the TCD MSc in Quantum Science and Technology, and the micro-credential Quantum Programming Certification Course from ICHEC (University of Galway) and Technology Ireland ICT Skillnet support the need to synergise and unify education under a national-level portfolio of quantum computing competence development framework.

ii. Industry/Academic collaboration – Strategic collaborations between industry and academia, exemplified by initiatives like The Convergent Quantum Research Alliance in Telecommunications , will play a pivotal role in strengthening Ireland’s standing in the quantum landscape.  Through these collaborative endeavours, both multinational corporations and domestic enterprises, along with academic institutions, will have the opportunity to foster growth and advancement in understanding how quantum technology can be effectively applied.

iii. Development of a state-of-the-art quantum technologies infrastructure – In order to facilitate and maintain industry-academia partnerships, a robust infrastructure is essential. At a European level, Irish universities are active participants in the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking with the objective to deploy and provide access to Quantum Computing with expert support.  Indeed, the Quantum Flagship program is focused on position Europe as the ‘Quantum Valley of the World’.  At a national level, projects such as Quantum Computing in Ireland (QCoIr), support quantum computer researchers and establish the groundwork for a quantum ecosystem in Ireland, are pivotal in advancing this goal.

As the Strategic Research Agenda report of the EU Quantum Flagship program states “it is now widely understood that the mastery of deep technologies will determine the future prosperity of countries and regions across the world. Sovereignty over these technologies will become the critical building block for the future economic development and digital self-determination of societies”. Recognizing the transformative potential, Ireland is uniquely positioned to assume a pioneering role in the growth and development of quantum technology.

The guest post was authored by Ciaran Fennessy, Senior Vice President and Head of Strategy and Transformation for Global Funds Services Technology at Citi, with contributions from Dr. Venkatesh Kannan, Associate Director (Solutions R&D) at ICHEC.