Bridging quantum and supercomputing: Preparations underway for installing the VLQ quantum computer set to connect with LUMI

This year, the first Czech quantum computer will be installed in IT4Innovations National Supercomputing Center in Ostrava. It has been named VLQ, and the first components of this unique machine have already been delivered. One of the most important is the cryostat – a device in which the chip is subsequently placed and must be able to cool the chip to a temperature of 10 millikelvins (-273.14 degrees Celsius), i.e. similar to a temperature in space.

By September this year, the Czech Republic will have launched its first ever quantum computer, located in IT4Innovations National Supercomputing Center in Ostrava, which is part of VSB – Technical University of Ostrava. It will be based on superconducting qubits and offer a unique star-shaped topology. And it is this very technology that makes it different from its competitors. VLQ promises higher performance despite the smaller number of qubits thanks to connectivity, where so-called swap operations are minimised. This will enable the implementation of highly complex quantum algorithms. The system will feature 24 physical qubits connected to a central resonator.

Built as part of the LUMI-Q consortium, which brings together 13 partners from 8 European countries led by the Czech Republic, the quantum computer has already been given a name. It is VLQ, which can also be read as the Czech word for “wolf” [vlk], as the wolf is a symbol of the Finnish LUMI, one of Europe’s most powerful supercomputers. Indeed, the LUMI consortium is also the founding member of the LUMI-Q consortium, which has acquired VLQ and will continue to operate it. However, the VLQ acronym also has its explanation: V = VSB – Technical University Ostrava, where the quantum computer will be located, L = LUMI-Q consortium, but also a reference to the LUMI consortium, Q = Quantum Computing.

–  The name was quite a challenge given the number of partners from so many different European countries. The selection worked on an internal basis, whereby the staff of the institutions forming the LUMI-Q consortium were given the opportunity to nominate the name of the quantum computer. The name VLQ was chosen from the submissions received, says Branislav Jansík, Supercomputing Services Director at IT4Innovations and coordinator of the LUMI-Q consortium.

In mid-March, VLQ, whose supplier is the Finnish IQM Quantum Computers company, started gradually moving to Ostrava. One of the rooms near the IT4Innovations data room was specially adapted for the VLQ quantum computer. Unlike supercomputers — for example, the Karolina supercomputer, which occupies 35 m2 — the space requirements for a quantum computer are indeed small. An area of just 4 m2 is dedicated to the quantum computer itself and another 20 m2 or so to the supporting technologies that provide special ambient conditions for its operation.

In the first phase, one of the most important and technologically demanding components was delivered — the cryostat. This device is very similar to a chandelier weighing 300 kg, which is crucial for the functioning of quantum technologies. The cryostat delivered to IT4Innovations has four levels, with different temperatures for each.

–  For the bottom two levels, which will house the chip itself, two isotopes of helium had to be mixed to achieve a final temperature of 10 millikelvins. Cooling to the required temperature equal to that in space took three days and was achieved after 3 days on 24 March, says Helena Starková, Head of Administrations and Operations Department at IT4Innovations, who was involved in launching the cryostat with her team.

The temperature around the chip must equal 10 millikelvins, which is a value of -273.14 degrees Celsius. At that point, the chip is superconducting and can function correctly. At the same time, thermal noise inside the cryostat and the chip itself is suppressed. This noise could cause inaccuracies in quantum calculations.

Now, everyone, not only in Ostrava, can´t wait to see the delivery of the quantum chip itself. It is very tiny, and its non-functional sample is already available for viewing at IT4Innovations.

–  A test chip will be installed very soon and later replaced by the final version of the chip. There is quite a high error rate in the chip manufacturing itself, which is normal for classical chips, but in the case of quantum chips, the error rate is even higher, Jansík said.

The quantum computer will be available to research institutions, universities, industrial companies, and the public sector.

–  Quantum computers have the revolutionary potential to bring a brand-new approach to computing and solving computationally extremely complex problems. Unlike classical computers that work with binary bits, quantum computers use quantum bits or qubits. These allow quantum phenomena such as superposition and quantum entanglement to be manipulated. This gives them the unique ability to efficiently solve problems that are too difficult for classical computers. Such tasks can include optimisation tasks for solving the electronic structure of new materials and traffic and port management, says Marek Lampart, Head of the Quantum Computing Lab at IT4Innovations.

The total investment cost of the system is CZK 125 million, and another CZK 30 million will be needed for its operation, with EuroHPC JU funding 50% of the cost and the LUMI-Q consortium covering the remaining 50%. This consortium is a true pan-European collaboration effort involving eight European countries: Czechia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden.

Read more from the IT4Innovations National Supercomputing Center webpage:  https://www.it4i.cz/en/infrastructure/lumi-q-consortium-quantum-computer