EuroQCS-France is set to provide remote access to a 6-qubit digital photonic quantum computer from startup Quandela ahead of the deployment of the Lucy digital photonic quantum supercomputer in France next year. This move aims to familiarize European researchers with linear optics-based quantum computing (LOQC) before the arrival of Lucy, a 12-qubit universal digital photonic quantum supercomputer acquired by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking.
Lucy will be installed at the CEA computing center south of Paris and will be part of a unique constellation of six EuroHPC quantum computers, each based on different hardware technologies. Quandela provides expert support to promote research in LOQC, with CEO Niccolo Somaschi expressing enthusiasm for introducing the Lucy system to the EuroHPC quantum computing galaxy. GENCI’s Philippe Lavocat and CEA’s Jacques-Charles Lafoucriere emphasized the need for users to have the right tools and level of support to tackle LOQC’s learning curve.
EuroQCS-France: Paving the Way for Remote Access to Photonic Quantum Computing
The EuroQCS-France consortium, comprising GENCI and the CEA, has announced that it will soon provide remote access to a 6-qubit digital photonic quantum computer from Quandela, a French startup. This move is in anticipation of the deployment of the Lucy digital photonic quantum supercomputer, scheduled for mid-2025. The consortium aims to familiarize the European open research community with linear optics-based quantum computing (LOQC) and provide them with tools to develop applications that will run on the 12-qubit Lucy system.
The Quandela device, which will be made available remotely, is a universal digital photonic quantum computer that uses linear optics to manipulate photons for quantum computing. This technology has many potential applications, but it also involves a learning curve. To address this, GENCI and the CEA have already begun making tools available to help academic and industrial research communities familiarize themselves with LOQC. Perceval, the programming and emulation environment provided by Quandela, has been available for over a year on the Joliot-Curie supercomputer.
Preparing for Lucy’s Arrival
The Lucy system is a 12-qubit universal digital photonic quantum supercomputer acquired by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (JU) from a consortium formed by Quandela and its German partner Attocube Systems AG. It will be installed at the TGCC, the CEA computing center located south of Paris, and with GENCI’s Joliot-Curie supercomputer. Lucy is part of a unique constellation of six EuroHPC quantum computers, each based on a different hardware technology.
To date, four of these systems have been acquired from IQM (Euro-Q-Exa and LUMI-Q), AQT (EuroQCS-Poland), Quandela, and Attocube Systems AG (EuroQCS-France). The EuroHPC Joint Undertaking aims to create a pan-European hybrid HPC/QC infrastructure, which will enable researchers to access different quantum computing technologies and develop scale-up applications.
Expert Support for LOQC Research
In addition to remote preparatory access, end users can request assistance from a Quandela LOQC expert to help them develop the applications that will run on the 12-qubit Lucy system. This support is crucial, as linear optics-based quantum computing involves a learning curve. “Linear optics-based quantum computing is an exciting and complex paradigm with many potential applications. However, we are well aware that it also involves a learning curve, and we need to ensure that users have the right tools and level of support to tackle it,” said Philippe Lavocat, CEO and President of GENCI, and Jacques-Charles Lafoucriere, Program Director at CEA.
Access details for these services will soon be available on GENCI’s DARI platform. Researchers interested in accessing the Quandela device remotely or requesting expert support can visit the CEA, EuroHPC Joint Undertaking, and Quandela booths (#4143, #4249, and #4450, respectively) at the SC24 conference at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.
GENCI (Grand Équipement National de Calcul Intensif) is a major research infrastructure created in 2007 by the French public authorities. Its mission is to democratize the use of digital simulation via high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing.
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