Planned Research Topics for 2024

US quantum computing (QC) supplier IonQ recently announced plans to build what it is calling the first US-based QC manufacturing plant. The 65,000 square foot facility, scheduled for completion in the first half of 2024, will be located outside Seattle, Washington and will most likely be targeted for the firm's next-generation 32-qubit Aria quantum computer. The facility is also slated to become IonQ's second internal data center, but there were no announced details whether this new center will either supplant or augment IonQ' s existing cloud service provider relationships with Azure Quantum, Amazon Bracket, and Google Cloud, that currently support access to IonQ systems.

The European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) recently announced the selection of six sites to host what could be the first major round of EU government-sponsored quantum computer (QC) procurements. The new QC systems will be integrated into leading EU-based HPC sites including the IT4Innovations National Supercomputing Centre in Czechia, the Barcelona Supercomputer Center in Spain, and Cineca in Italy, as well as key HPC sites in France, Germany, and Poland. The QC systems will be networked to support EU-wide access by academic, commercial and government research facilities. Half of the 2023 €100 million procurement budget will come from the EU and the remainder from the 17 countries participating in the EuroHPC JU. The QC hardware and software for this effort will draw exclusively on EU technology developed under EU-funded quantum initiatives, related national programs, and private investments.