Statement Mark Mattingley-Scott: "Quantum computing is much more than supercomputing"
"Quantum computers are there to solve problems – but not exclusively the biggest ones of our time. Currently, the supposedly most relevant feature of quantum computers is their absolute ability to perform ultra-complex calculations in the shortest possible time. However, quantum computing only means supercomputing in exceptional cases. This is because in broad practical use in industry, financial services, the health sector and many other sectors, this hunt for the very highest computing capacity is not very effective. Companies need the top-of-the-line computing power of quantum computers – but in a purpose-built form. Supercomputing is primarily relevant for research. The central question therefore is: What is the fastest way to turn quantum technology into a business case? After all, if this enormous performance cannot be channeled and scaled for a specific use case in business and society, where is the benefit at the moment?
Many companies want to use the technology in a practical way directly on site. This requires robust quantum processors for 'Zero Infrastructure Quantum Computing' – for parallel operation with classical computers in data centers, for use on mobile platforms and even for edge devices. In order to become usable in such environments – for example in IoT devices – it is important to bring quantum computers to an appropriate size. That's when quantum computing becomes really interesting for commercial use. In the best case, qubits based on implanted nitrogen atoms in synthetic diamond substrates (NV centers) are used. They do not require complex cryocooling, for example by helium, but work at room temperature and provide the computing power of quantum computers exactly where it is needed in the sense of zero infrastructure. This means more speed, higher computational accuracy, and less energy consumption. We are talking about orders of magnitude with which quantum computers can be installed directly in an autonomous vehicle, for example. And then the costs look very different – compared to a helium-cooled supercomputer with hundreds of qubits.
In order to establish quantum computing as a technology in everyday social and business life, absolute performance is not decisive. Rather, the focus should be on expediency for special, commercially successful application scenarios. It is quite important to further advance the so-called 'parallelization'. In this process, several quantum processors work together and use the advantages of the individual machines to achieve considerable performance advantages over classical computing methods and to make groundbreaking advances in research – around medicine, batteries and the like – as supercomputers in the future, as well as to crack previously unsolvable problems after all. But we shouldn't wait for such supercomputers. This is because quantum computers are already beating conventional computers in certain but impractical scenarios. Above all, practical use is essential now."