Ireland: A superpower in quantum technology?

We are now standing on the threshold of what is being called the quantum revolution and Ireland is well placed to lead it, according to Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) deputy director Ciarán Seoighe. This revolution will see the full power of quantum technology harnessed to transform and disrupt everything from manufacturing to telecommunications as well as computing, pharmaceuticals, software and materials science.

Quantum technology takes advantage of changes in the way physics operates at a sub-atomic level. "The laws of physics at quantum level are quite different from the way classical physics works in our world," says Seoighe. "Quantum technology is much broader than quantum computing which a lot of people will have heard of.

“It uses the unique and interesting characteristics and properties of quantum physics to do new things like overcoming the limitations of Moore’s Law to increase computer power.”

The scale of the difference in computing power is illustrated by the Google announcement last year of what was termed "quantum supremacy", a demonstration of a quantum computer outperforming a supercomputer.

Quantum computing is based on quantum bits or qubits. “Google used around 50 qubits to perform a complex calculation in 200 seconds that it would have taken a supercomputer 10,000 years to do,” Seoighe notes. “That’s a double-edged sword though. The cryptography keys used in cybersecurity at present would take a supercomputer billions of years to decrypt but a quantum computer could do it in hours.”

Ireland is in quite a good place when it comes to taking a leading position in this frontier technology. The highly developed ICT, pharmaceuticals and materials science sectors in this country lend themselves to it. For example, the ability to run probability simulations on vast amounts of data could be very useful to researchers looking for a vaccine for a novel virus.

“Quantum technology would allow them to put in a set of parameters and simulate and project outcomes that would not be possible using today’s computers,” Seoighe adds.

Scientists

Ireland has also attracted some of the most brilliant quantum scientists in the world to work here. They include Prof Bogdan Staszewski who was recruited to UCD in 2014 to establish a €6.3 million centre of circuit design for IoT applications supported by SFI. Prof Séamus Davis, a world-leading quantum physicist relocated from the US in January 2019 under the SFI Research Professorship programme. He focuses on atomic-scale research into the exotic materials that are key to quantum technology.

And Trinity recently welcomed Prof Ortwin Hess, a global leader in photonic quantum technology research and science, to lead a project that will give rise to more secure quantum communications and quantum simulation.

“It’s a fascinating technology which is moving at pace,” says Seoighe. “The stuff that some of the researchers in Ireland is doing is right at the cutting edge.”

Economic impacts

And it won’t be long until the economic impacts are felt. “IDC has forecast that in less than five years up to a quarter of Fortune 500 companies will be taking advantage of quantum technology,” he adds.

“We are a small country and will never be able to go toe to toe with the behemoths, but we are very agile and there is not much distance between our research base and the policymakers. We need to play to that strength.

“Quantum technology is moving fast, and we are not entirely sure where it’s going. We need to be in the vanguard of developments, not a fast follower. Ireland could emerge as a superpower in quantum technology.”

SFI took a first step towards exploiting that opportunity earlier this year. “In January, we got the best minds in quantum technology in Ireland and the policymakers and industry together to discuss where Ireland should go next,” says Seoighe. “On the plus side, we have been very successfully building up a strong research base including Tyndall and the Irish Centre for High End Computing [Ichec]. Ichec is already looking at quantum computing while Tyndall does a lot of work on photonics. We have now established a National Advisory Forum for Quantum Technology to take this forward.”

An industry forum is also being established. “We need to promote what we can do and showcase it nationally and internationally,” Seoighe concludes. “And we need the funding to do the frontier research and take it forward. We have a really good base of seriously good people here and we can use that to stay ahead of the wave instead of just riding it. We can’t afford not to be in the vanguard.”