Signature of the Procurement Contract for Lucy, a New EuroHPC Quantum Computer Located in France

Lucy will be a digital, MOSAIQ-12 photonic quantum computer, offering 12 physical qubits. 

The new system will be available to a wide range of European end-users, from the scientific community to industry and the public sector. The specific architecture of the Lucy universal quantum computer will enable the resolution of existing problems and the discovery of new use cases. Coupled with the GENCI supercomputer Joliot-Curie, operated by CEA, it will allow the exploration of numerous hybrid HPC-Quantum Computing workloads for topics such as electromagnetic simulation, structural mechanics, engine combustion, material simulation, meteorology and earth observation. 

Named after a derivative of the Latin word “lux”, which means “light”, this single-photon based quantum computer will boost European innovation. It will support the development of a wide range of applications with industrial, scientific and societal relevance for Europe, adding new capabilities to the European supercomputing infrastructure.

Owned by the EuroHPC JU, the system will be hosted by GENCI (Grand Equipement National de Calcul Intensif, France), installed and operated at TGCC (Très Grand Centre de calcul du CEA (Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives, France), one of the three national computing centres in France. 

The installation of the system will start in 2025. 

The EuroQCS-France consortium is led by GENCI as hosting entity and CEA as hosting site, with the University Politehnica of Bucharest (UPB, Romania), Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ, Germany) and Irish Centre for High- End Computing (ICHEC, Ireland) as members.

The total cost of the system is around EUR 8.5 million and will be co-funded by the EuroHPC JU (50%) and France (50%).

More information

• Quandela (France) and attocube systems AG (Germany) selected by EuroHPC and EuroQCS-France to supply Europe's most powerful photonic quantum computer, Press release from GENCI

Background

The consortium led by Quandela and attocube has been selected following a call for tender launched in January 2024.

On June 2023, the EuroHPC JU signed hosting agreements with six sites across Europe to host & operate EuroHPC quantum computers.  

In 2024, the EuroHPC JU has announced the signatures of the procurement contracts for the EuroQCS-Poland quantum computer and the LUMI-Q consortium’s quantum computer. 

The selection of six hosting entities followed the view of offering the widest possible variety of different European quantum computing platforms and hybrid classical-quantum architectures, giving Europe the opportunity to be at the forefront of this emerging field, and to provide European users with access to diverse and complementary quantum technologies.  

This initiative offers a novel interpretation of quantum computers as accelerator platforms in genuine HPC environments. The foreseen integration will require essential R&D developments towards a hybrid software stack managing both HPC and quantum computing (QC) workloads.  During the integration work, all Hosting Entities will collaborate closely with European Standardisation bodies. 

These six quantum computers will come on top of two analogue quantum simulators procured under the EuroHPC JU project HPCQS and which are based on neutral atoms, supplied by the French company PASQAL. HPCQS aims to develop and coordinate a cloud-based European federated infrastructure, tightly integrating two quantum computers, each controlling 100-plus qubits in the Tier-0 HPC systems Joliot-Curie of GENCI and the JURECA modular supercomputer at the Julich Supercomputing Centre (JSC).  

About EuroHPC JU

The EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) is a legal and funding entity created in 2018 to enable the European Union and EuroHPC participating countries to coordinate their efforts and pool their resources with the objective of making Europe a world leader in supercomputing.  

In order to equip Europe with a world-leading supercomputing infrastructure, the EuroHPC JU has already procured nine supercomputers, located across Europe. Three of these EuroHPC supercomputers are now ranked among the world’s top 10 most powerful supercomputers: LUMI in Finland, Leonardo in Italy and MareNostrum 5 in Spain.  

No matter where in Europe they are located, European scientists and users from the public sector and industry can benefit from these EuroHPC supercomputers via the EuroHPC Access Calls to advance science and support the development of a wide range of applications with industrial, scientific and societal relevance for Europe.

About GENCI

Created by the French public authorities in 2007, GENCI (Grand Équipement National de Calcul Intensif) is a major research infrastructure. This public operator aims to democratise the use of digital simulation through high performance computing associated with the use of artificial intelligence, and quantum computing to support French scientific and industrial competitiveness.

GENCI is in charge of three missions:

• To implement the national strategy for the provision of high-performance computing resources, storage, massive data processing associated with Artificial Intelligence technologies and quantum computing, for the benefit of French scientific research, in conjunction with the 3 national computing centres (CEA/TGCC, CNRS/IDRIS, France Universités/CINES).
• Supporting the creation of an integrated ecosystem on a national and European level
• Promoting digital simulation and supercomputing to academic research and industry

GENCI is a civil company 49% owned by the State represented by the Ministry in charge of Higher Education and Research, 20% by the CEA, 20% by the CNRS, 10% by the Universities represented by France Universités and 1% by Inria.

Regarding the national quantum strategy GENCI is partner together with CEA and Inria of HQI, the French HPC hybrid Quantum Initiative. 

Follow GENCI on LinkedIn, and visit their website https://www.genci.fr/ 

About Quandela

Quandela is a quantum computing company, specialized in industry-grade cloud, and on-premises solutions. It is a leading light of the tech world.
The company leverages semiconductor and photonic industries to manufacture qubit technologies and modules for quantum computing systems that scale.  With a focus toward the development of useful quantum computing solutions, Quandela works on machines and algorithms for quantum advantage, to propel the industry toward error corrected system, enabling their Quantum Transformation along the journey.  Follow Quandela on Linkedin, and visit their website www.quandela.com.

About attocube

Attocube systems AG was founded in 2001 and is recognized for innovation and excellence in developing, manufacturing, and distributing cutting-edge components and solutions for nano- and quantum technology applications in research and industry. The portfolio includes market leading vibration-isolated cryostat systems, nano-positioners for ultra-precise positioning, highly precise displacement sensors, and microscope systems capable of operating under extreme environmental conditions such as ultra-high vacuum, cryogenic temperatures, or high magnetic fields. With the product line ‘Compact Mobile Cryogenics’ the company offers most compact and energy-efficient 19” cryostat systems that can be easily integrated into OEM systems, thus pushing the commercialization of photon-based quantum applications one step further.

All products are developed and manufactured at the company's headquarters in Haar, Germany. An international team of physicists, engineers, software developers, and product designers collaborates closely from conception to delivery. Products are distributed globally, with attocube having a presence in the USA and a broad network of distributors serving customers in over 40 countries.