DOE Looks to Build Quantum Computing Into National Research Utility

The Department of Energy (DOE) is looking to build national quantum computing user facilities that would give researchers broad access to advanced systems as the technology matures.

Speaking at the Quantum World Congress on Sept 25, DOE Under Secretary for Science Darío Gil said the department wants to build on its five National Quantum Information Science Research Centers by developing quantum computing user facilities modeled on infrastructure that DOE already makes available to the research community.

“We absolutely want to see a situation where we … go beyond the current five centers that we support … into a future where we have these user facilities,” Gil said. “And as long as there is computing, there will be quantum computing present in that journey.”

The approach would extend DOE’s existing user-facility model – which provides researchers access to high-performance computing systems, light sources, particle accelerators, and other specialized scientific infrastructure – into quantum computing.

Rather than focusing solely on individual quantum systems, Gil described a future in which researchers could gain broader access to quantum computing capabilities through DOE’s scientific infrastructure.