Breakthrough: Quantum computers made 90% more energy efficient, smaller, and faster

Canadian company Nord Quantique has developed a novel method to improve quantum error correction (QEC) that will help develop smaller and energy-efficient quantum computers in the future.

Dubbed Tesseract code, the approach combines multimode encoding with bosonic qubit technology, which protects the system from multiple common errors seen in quantum systems.

Quantum computers are the next big thing in computing technology, promising to solve challenges like climate change, drug discovery, and much more for humanity. Unlike classical computers that use bits to store and process information, quantum computers leverage quantum states of materials for processing data.

Called quantum bits or qubits, these data storage units can occupy multiple states simultaneously, referred to as superposition, unlike binary bits’ on or off state. This allows qubits to process information at exponential rates compared to classical bits. However, this also increases the likelihood of accumulating errors during the process, prompting the need to build robust quantum error correction (QEC) systems.

Since quantum computing systems operate at ultra-low temperatures, deploying QEC systems is an additional cost associated with quantum computing in terms of money spent and energy consumption. Nord Quantique’s innovative approach solves both problems in one.

What is Tesseract Code?

The Tesseract Code uses bosonic qubit technology that protects the quantum system from bit flips, phase flips, and control errors. Since this is coupled with multimode encoding, the QEC prevents leakage errors.

According to the company’s research paper, Nord uses a completely autonomous error correction system capable of mid-circuit measurements, which can identify and discard flagged realizations during the computation. This is referred to as erasure-based error suppression.

“Using physical qubits to create redundancy makes the system large, inefficient, and complex, which also increases energy requirements,” said Julien Camirand-Lemyre, CEO of Nord Quantique, in a press release.

“Multimode encoding allows us to build quantum computers with excellent error correction capabilities, but without the impediment of all those physical qubits.”

In a demonstration, the company filtered out imperfect runs and discarded 12.6 percent of data for each round of 32 error correction cycles with no measurable decay. As more modes are added, the Tesseract code is also expected to deliver more QEC benefits.

90 percent energy consumption reduction

The major advantage of this approach is that it builds not just fault-tolerant but also efficient quantum systems. The company estimates that its 1,000 logical qubit quantum computer will take just 20 square meters of space and easily fit inside a data center.

In terms of energy savings, the researchers estimate that the cryptographic algorithm RSA-830 can be computed at speeds of 1 MHz in just one hour on their quantum computer using 120 kWh of energy.

In comparison, classical high-performance computing would need nine days of computing time with an estimated energy expenditure of 280,000 kWh, showcasing significant time and energy savings when using quantum computing.

Interestingly, Norq Quantifique’s approach also ensures that its physical and logical qubits are identical. A 1,000-qubit quantum computer with physical and logical qubits in a 1:1 ratio will arrive in 2029.