A third quantum computer lands in Barcelona to lead Europe's technological revolution
The Barcelona Supercomputing Center reaffirms its commitment to leading the EU's "technological sovereignty"
BarcelonaNew scientific milestone for Barcelona, which continues to take steps to consolidate itself as one of the European capitals of knowledge, research, and innovation. This Thursday, the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS) has officially presented its third quantum computer, the EuroQCS-Spain, which with a cost of 9.8 million euros makes the institution one of the few centers in the world that combine supercomputing and quantum technology. "It is the only one with three quantum computers connected to a classic supercomputer," claimed the director of the BSC, Mateo Valero, during the presentation of the new technology, which has been co-financed by the European Commission and the Spanish government.
Currently, supercomputers like the one at the BSC, MareNostrum 5, do not have enough capacity to tackle challenges of "great computational complexity", as they "would take too long" to process the information requested, explained Valero. This is where quantum computers like the one inaugurated this Thursday come into play, which in the future must be capable of solving problems insurmountable for classic supercomputing. In this aspiration, Catalonia wants to establish itself as a world reference hub.
With this Thursday's incorporation, the BSC now has two digital quantum computers and one analog. What differentiates them is how they process information: the digital system is more suitable for solving mathematical and cryptography problems and search algorithms, and the analog one allows for addressing physical phenomena, optimizing the resolution of logistical problems, and training AI models. Valero explained that all the algorithms they develop now have some part of artificial intelligence. "For example, we are undertaking a great challenge, which is the simulation of the future European combat aircraft. Without artificial intelligence, with classic fluid dynamics techniques, it would have been impossible," exemplified the expert.
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Having this technology is key to advancing towards Europe's "technological sovereignty" and ceasing to depend on foreign innovation, according to Óscar Díez, head of the Quantum Technologies sector at the EC, who believes that industrial leadership and autonomy are pending duties on the Old Continent. In fact, the entire development process of the new quantum computer was carried out by the Catalan company Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech. The new quantum system will be part of the European quantum computer network coordinated by the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU), which has so far acquired six quantum computers located across Europe.
The role that Catalonia will play in this revolution that Europe is pursuing has been claimed by both the Minister of Research and Universities, Núria Montserrat, and the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Universities, Juan Cruz Cigudosa. The latter has also insisted that quantum technology will allow for accelerating advances and knowledge in classical supercomputing. Also participating in the inauguration were the Secretary of State for Digitization and Artificial Intelligence, María González Veracruz; the rector of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), Francesc Torres, and the CEO of Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech, Marta Estarellas.