Quantum Computing Business News, Quantum Networking

$4M NIST grant funds quantum researchers at EPB Quantum Center

Avatar of Ivy Delaney
September 18, 2026 by Ivy Delaney

Chattanooga, Tennessee is now home to the first commercial quantum computing and networking hub in the United States, as EPB launched the IonQ Forte Enterprise quantum computer at the EPB Quantum Center. The milestone combines quantum computing power with EPB’s network, allowing companies and researchers to develop and test quantum technologies.

“Today’s launch represents another major step in the growth of a quantum ecosystem found only in Chattanooga,” said Vicky Gregg, Chair of the EPB Board of Directors. A $4 million grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will fund research optimizing EPB’s power grid with the help of eight visiting graduate researchers.

IonQ Forte System Launches Chattanooga’s Quantum Computing Hub

This deployment allows EPB customers, beginning with the EPB Quantum Computing Fellows, to use the system for algorithms they have been developing to further optimize local power grid circuits. This hybrid computing initiative combines the Forte Enterprise system with a classical supercomputer installed onsite, fostering collaboration between EPB, IonQ, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and NVIDIA. Researchers aim to optimize portions of EPB’s automated electric grid, evaluating applications for increasingly complex energy systems and extending beyond theoretical exploration into practical implementation.

The collaborative effort underscores a shift toward real-world quantum applications, moving beyond laboratory experimentation to address tangible infrastructure challenges. “There is a real difference between using a quantum computer and operating one in the real world,” stated a representative from EPB.

EPB’s investment in quantum infrastructure builds on a history of technological innovation; the company launched the world’s first community-wide gig-speed internet in 2010. “Just as EPB’s decision to launch the world’s first community-wide gig-speed internet shaped our community’s future back in 2010, this milestone carries forward our strategy of building advanced infrastructure that enhances the way we serve our customers while opening new economic opportunity for our community,” explained an EPB spokesperson.

The company anticipates that its quantum initiatives will generate up to $1.1 billion in economic gains for Chattanooga over the next decade, attracting investment and talent. The EPB Quantum Center will also host the Quantum in Business conference on October 1, bringing together over 400 leaders to explore the potential of quantum computing and its projected $2.7 trillion economic impact.

Becoming the first U.S. hub to offer commercially available quantum computing and quantum networking under one roof is a milestone.

Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly

$4M NIST Grant Fuels Power Grid Optimization Research

These researchers, drawn from across the United States and specializing in quantum information science, physics, and engineering, will focus on reducing costs and bolstering the resilience of the local power grid for EPB customers. IonQ’s parallel investment of $15 million to establish the Tennessee Quantum Communications Research Center further solidifies Chattanooga’s position as a hub for quantum innovation, with plans to create approximately two dozen jobs focused on quantum science and research.

This commitment complements EPB’s own efforts, as Niccolo de Masi, Chairman and CEO of IonQ, explained, “This Forte Enterprise system complements EPB’s quantum networking capabilities, laying the foundation for a full suite of applications for quantum communications and commercialization for their clients.” The collaborative environment fostered by EPB and IonQ aims to allow organizations to explore quantum applications and contribute to the technology’s future development. This combination will allow researchers to evaluate complex energy systems and explore applications beyond the current scope of EPB’s grid, potentially unlocking solutions for increasingly sophisticated energy challenges.

“We’re starting with our own work to directly benefit our customers while also prioritizing the universities that are investing to expand quantum education, workforce development and research right here in Chattanooga,” EPB has stated, emphasizing a commitment to both practical impact and long-term growth. $7 trillion in economic value quantum computing may deliver.

EPB and IonQ have built something unique. This Forte Enterprise system complements EPB’s quantum networking capabilities, laying the foundation for a full suite of applications for quantum communications and commercialization for their clients.

Niccolo de Masi, Chairman and CEO of IonQ

University Partnerships Expand Quantum Education & Workforce Development

UTC will be the inaugural customer of EPB Quantum Computing, initiating research projects immediately upon the center’s opening in early October, alongside parallel work commencing with Vanderbilt University demonstrating a swift transition from infrastructure build to applied research. The establishment of this commercial quantum hub builds on a history of forward-thinking infrastructure investment in Chattanooga, a parallel drawn by former U.S. Senator Bob Corker, who noted, “Chattanooga has a long track record of building infrastructure before the demand is obvious, and that instinct has paid off for this community again and again.”

Hamilton County Schools is piloting a statewide K-12 quantum education initiative, selected by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development to introduce students to quantum concepts and career pathways. Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp highlighted the inclusive aim of these efforts, saying, “Our goal is to make sure every person in Hamilton County has an opportunity to benefit from the investments being made in our community,” with hundreds of high school students slated to participate in the Energy and Quantum Industries Academy at Franklin-Roberts Future Ready Center.

Today’s launch represents another major step in the growth of a quantum ecosystem found only in Chattanooga.

Vicky Gregg, Chair of the EPB Board of Directors

Quantum Infrastructure Drives Regional Economic Investment & Job Creation

Federal validation of Chattanooga’s emerging quantum ecosystem arrived with a $4 million grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). These funds will support quantum researchers working directly at the EPB Quantum Center, optimizing the region’s power grid and furthering applications within complex energy systems. Beyond direct financial impact, the EPB Quantum Center is fostering a collaborative environment for quantum exploration. Access to a commercial quantum computer is rare and valuable, and the center uniquely combines this with a dedicated quantum network.

Over the next decade alone, EPB’s quantum initiatives are projected to generate up to $1.1 billion in economic gains for Chattanooga.

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IonQ National Institute of Standards and Technology NIST Quantum Computing Quantum Networking
Avatar of Ivy Delaney

Ivy Delaney

Ivy Delaney has been working with neural networks and machine learning since the mid-nineties, back when a couple of hidden layers and a long afternoon of training counted as ambitious. She has watched the field go from academic curiosity to the thing quietly running underneath everything, and she brings that long view to quantum computing. For Quantum Zeitgeist she covers the ground where the two fields meet. That means quantum machine learning and the variational algorithms it leans on, and it also means the less glamorous but more interesting story of classical machine learning already doing real work inside quantum machines, decoding error-correcting codes, calibrating noisy hardware and learning the error models that simulators depend on. She writes about the hardware those algorithms have to run on too, and about the post-quantum cryptography scramble that the same hardware has set off. Her stories typically start with the paper, whether that is peer-reviewed work, conference proceedings or an arXiv preprint, with the source linked so you can hold a claim up against the research it came from. She is unimpressed by benchmarks that will not say what they beat, and by demonstrations that only work in the press release.

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