IBM Opens its First Quantum Data Center in Europe, Featuring 16x More Performant Heron-Based Systems

Insider Brief:

• IBM has opened its first Quantum Data Center in Europe, located in Ehningen, Germany, exemplifying the expansion of the company’s global quantum computing capabilities.

• The data center features IBM’s Quantum Heron-based system, which offers 16 times better performance and 25 times faster speeds than previous systems, designed for utility-scale quantum computing.

• European enterprises and research institutions, including Bosch, Volkswagen, and the University of the Basque Country, will use the new quantum systems to advance quantum algorithm discovery in fields like energy optimization, materials science, and finance.

• The IBM Quantum Platform provides cloud-based access to these systems, enabling users to develop quantum use cases and push towards quantum advantage.

PRESS RELEASE — In a recent press release, IBM announced the ribbon-cutting of Europe’s first IBM Quantum Data Center in Ehningen, Germany, a representation of the intentional expansion of the company’s global quantum computing capabilities. This state-of-the-art facility, the first outside of the United States and the second in the world, will bring IBM’s utility-scale quantum systems to users across Europe and beyond. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, industry leaders, and European government officials attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony, adding weight to the importance of this milestone for quantum innovation in the region.

The data center fulfills IBM’s 2023 announcement to build its first European-based quantum data center, designed to expand accessibility to quantum computing for companies, research institutions, and government agencies. At the time, Jay Gambetta, IBM Fellow and Vice President of IBM Quantum, emphasized, “The planned quantum data center and associated cloud region will give European users a new option as they seek to tap the power of quantum computing in an effort to solve some of the world’s most challenging problems.”

Now operational, IBM Quantum Data Center in Europe will feature the new IBM Quantum Heron-based system alongside two additional utility-scale quantum systems. According to the release, the Heron-based system is the company’s most performant quantum computer to date, designed to perform complex quantum computations at a scale previously unattainable. First introduced in late 2023, the Heron processor was also recently deployed in IBM’s Quantum Data Center in Poughkeepsie, New York, as part of the center’s “largest and highest-performing fleet of globally accessible quantum systems.”

The Poughkeepsie Heron-based system, along with the additional utility-scale systems in the new European IBM Quantum Data Center, expands IBM’s offering of more than a dozen quantum computers available to clients via the cloud—the largest fleet of its kind in the world. The Heron-based systems offer a 16-fold increase in performance and a 25-fold increase in speed over previous quantum computers, making them central to IBM’s mission of bringing quantum advantage to global users through the cloud. This technology will enable users to develop and test increasingly sophisticated quantum algorithms, with the goal in mind of solving real-world problems with quantum computing.

“Since IBM made the first quantum computer available on the cloud in 2016, we have broken barriers across quantum hardware and software to build our largest and highest-performing fleet of globally accessible quantum systems,” said Jay Gambetta, Vice President at IBM Quantum. “Our quantum data center in Poughkeepsie is the epicenter of these efforts, with more organizations around the world using our systems here in the Hudson Valley to explore industry-relevant problems on real quantum hardware. As we continue to expand our quantum computers in Poughkeepsie and globally, we will work with our network of more than 250 organizations to accelerate the pace of discovery in quantum computing.”

The Germany data center will serve IBM’s global quantum network, which now includes over 250 organizations spanning enterprises, universities, and research institutions. Notably, some of Europe’s leading enterprises and academic institutions, such as Crédit Mutuel, Bosch, E.ON, Volkswagen, and the University of the Basque Country, are set to take advantage of the power of these new quantum systems to advance their research and explore practical quantum applications in their industries.

Frantz Rublé, President of Euro-Information and Deputy CEO of Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale, emphasized the strategic importance of the center for their operations: “Our collaboration with IBM for the ‘scaling’ phase of quantum computing is progressing according to plan. We are working to develop concrete applications that improve the experience of our customers and members and create value for the Group’s businesses. The availability of this quantum data center on European soil addresses our constraints in terms of processing proximity and regulatory compliance.”

The opening of the quantum data center was celebrated in Ehningen, Germany, in the presence of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and IBM executives including Dario Gil, IBM Senior Vice President and Director of Research, Ana Paula Assis, General Manager of IBM EMEA, and Jay Gambetta, Vice President of IBM Quantum.

Javier Aizpurua, professor at the University of the Basque Country’s Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), highlighted the potential impact of quantum computing on scientific progress: “We believe that enabling our scientists and engineers to tackle demanding problems in materials sciences, high-energy physics, and biosciences through quantum computing, and providing state-of-the-art quantum computing access, will be key to making disruptive progress in all those disciplines. A combined use of quantum computing, AI, and data science, if generalized, will give rise to new possibilities not only in fundamental research but also in industrial innovation.”

According to the release, the systems at the IBM Quantum Data Center in Europe are designed to support complex computations that exceed the capabilities of classical computers, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in fields such as sustainability, finance, and materials design. The IBM Quantum Heron-based system is expected to be particularly useful in supporting research into quantum algorithms and helping users address some of the most intricate computational challenges.

The data center’s offerings will be accessible via the IBM Quantum Platform, allowing users to conduct cloud-based quantum computing research. With the addition of the IBM Quantum Data Center in Europe, IBM is providing the tools necessary on a global-scale to support the development of quantum use cases, potentially preparing clients for the era of quantum utility and eventually quantum advantage.