The Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation is funding a project enabling Swedish academia and industry to run quantum algorithms.
The Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden will first develop and optimise quantum computing on a test bed, after which IBM's quantum systems will help solve more significant problems over the cloud.
Since 2018, the Wallenberg Centre for Quantum Technology (WACQT) research program has been running a project to build a Swedish quantum computer with 25 quantum bits, or qubits. The goal is to increase to 100 qubits by 2029.
To help develop and ensure Swedish expertise in quantum technology and to facilitate the use of quantum computers in academia and industry, a copy of the current quantum computer will be made available as a test bed with a support desk.
A new agreement between Chalmers and IBM will offer Swedish academia and industry an opportunity to explore and use quantum computers.
"Because we are completely transparent about what is under the hood of our own, on-premises quantum computer, the idea is to make it easier and cheaper to optimise the algorithms run on the hardware in our system, which increases the chance of successful computation," said Per Delsing, Professor of quantum technology, microtechnology and nanoscience at Chalmers University of Technology and Director of WACQT.
"At the same time, we want to allow researchers within Swedish academia and industry to learn how to use and work with larger and more powerful quantum processors through our collaboration with IBM."
Organisations can test their algorithms on Chalmers' quantum test bed and have the opportunity to continue their work on IBM's quantum computing systems, including 127-qubit IBM Eagle processors and 133-qubit IBM Heron processors.
This collaboration will lower the threshold for companies and researchers in Sweden to explore how quantum computing could help tackle their industries' challenges.
The agreement with IBM is supported by a SEK 50 million grant from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.
