Quantum Energy Initiative Adds New Member; Joins IBM, Microsoft

Riverlane, a company that aims to accelerate useful quantum computing through error correction, has joined the Quantum Energy Initiative (QEI). Existing QEI members include Microsoft Azure Quantum, IBM Quantum and Alice & Bob.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates, the consumption of electricity by data centers is set to grow to 1,000 terawatt-hours by 2026, equal to the entire amount used by Japan. This is fueled to a large extent by the surge in demand for AI.

Quantum computers are expected to solve problems more efficiently and help drive down energy demands and the resultant carbon emissions.

QEI researches the environmental footprint of quantum computing. Member organizations contribute by defining energy-based metrics for quantum technologies, setting energy consumption limits and investigating the impact of hardware and software on energy consumption.  

“We enthusiastically welcome Riverlane into the Quantum Energy Initiative as an industrial partner,” said QEI co-founder Robert Whitney.

“Their leading-edge expertise in quantum error correction will be crucial in shaping the future of large-scale quantum computing. We are delighted that they see the importance of making this future an energy-efficient one.”

Related:Quantum, AI Combine to Transform Energy Generation, AI Summit London

Error correction will likely be one of the factors influencing the energy consumption of quantum computing. Using fewer total qubits to implement a logical qubit translates into less power needed to keep them in a usable state and less energy required to manipulate them.

The measurements and operations required to implement logical qubits can also impact the execution time and power consumption of the system. These are among the design choices that can ensure quantum reduces future energy demand compared with classical computing alone.

According to Riverlane, its Deltaflow.Decode error decoder uses less than 10mW and has been designed to be fast enough to keep up with quantum computers but with a small energy expenditure.

“For quantum computers to deliver energy savings over today’s classical supercomputers, we first need them to be useful. This is our main priority at Riverlane, through our specialist focus on our quantum error correction, but we recognize there’s even more we can do at this stage,” said Riverlane vice-president of engineering Marco Ghibauldi.

“By joining the Quantum Energy Initiative, we hope to contribute to this exciting new field of research and continue to build our understanding of how our QEC Stack can be developed and integrated to maximize energy efficiencies across the whole quantum computing stack.”

Related:Why Supercomputing Centers Are Installing On-Site Quantum Computers