Quandela, a French start-up and a pioneer in quantum photonics, collaborates with EDF, a leading French energy company, to investigate the role of photonic computing in numerical simulations of hydroelectric dam deformation. The application of this ground-breaking technology could improve simulation accuracy, speed up calculations, and reduce energy consumption. In the long run, the goal is to generalize the simulation models to other types of industrial applications and to extend photonic calculation to Machine Learning, which is used in consumption forecasting in particular.
The EDF Group is known to be the world’s leading company that focuses on low-carbon energy, they are an integrated energy company that is active in all business lines: generation, transmission, distribution, trading, energy sales, and energy services. In 2018, EDF became one of the first French companies to invest in quantum technologies, with the goal of improving computing performance for energy management while also assisting French and European players.
This partnership enables us to apply the knowledge of our engineers to industrial issues. EDF
Valérian Giesz, co-founder and CEO of Quandela
and Quandela are perfectly complementary. We put our expertise in differential equation
solving and algorithm development as well as our first full-stack photonic quantum computers
at EDF’s disposal. In return, we benefit from the knowledge and expertise acquired by EDF’s
R&D teams for decades.
Founded in 2017, Quandela, a pioneer in quantum photonics, is working on a full-fledged optical quantum computer. The company raised its first round of funding in 2020, followed by the second round of €15 million in 2021 from Omnes, Fonds Innovation Défense, and Quantonation, allowing it to significantly strengthen its R&D teams. This year, 2022, Quandela released Perceval, their very own photonic computer programming and simulation software; and signed a hosting partnership with OVHcloud to expand the user community. Today, the company offers a cybersecurity enhancement solution with a 2-qubit processor, and in the fall of 2022, it will make its first 6-qubit NISQ quantum computer available in the cloud.
The agreement between the two companies EDF and Quandela will mark a new phase. Today, Quandela’s teams include many expert theorists, engineers, and programmers – a unique model that enables us to meet the challenges of leading industrial players such as EDF.
EDF is an innovative company. Our R&D has almost 2000 employees worldwide and was
Stéphane Tanguy, Director of
born at the same time as the company. We started investing in quantum technologies 4 years
ago now. A partnership with Quandela, which we know well and whose technology is the result
of 20 years of research at the CNRS, seemed obvious. EDF has been interested in simulation
for 40 years: the calculations and equations developed are the result of decades of research
and effort. Quandela’s know-how, complementary to ours, allows us to form a rich and solid
partnership to continue to advance on these subjects.
Information Systems and Technologies at EDF R&D
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