NEWS
Quantum Data Centre of the Future demonstration and feedback day
As part of the UK’s Quantum Data Centre of the Future project, we invited a select group of businesses, universities, data centre providers, and users to Kao Data’s campus in Harlow, to see demonstrations of cutting-edge quantum technology and provide feedback on key challenges with integrating quantum technologies into secure data centre environments.
Backed by the UK Government, which provided a grant of £11.6 million, the largest single award for a quantum project, we are a 14-strong consortium of organizations and universities. Partners work together to develop a vision for how quantum communication and computing systems can effortlessly integrate with classical data centres and aims to establish a blueprint for the quantum data centre of the future.
The project is led by ORCA computing, with BT and KETS as work package leads in architecture and communications. Other partners comprise Riverlane, PQ Shield, NCC group, BP, Digital Catapult, National Composites Centre (NCC), University College London, University of Bristol, Imperial College London, University of Bath, and University of Southampton.
Kao Data’s Harlow campus was chosen as the venue for the Quantum Data Centre of the Future demonstration, with their KLON-01 data centre already hosting some of the UK’s most advanced, high-performance computing infrastructure.
The demonstrations from our event included:
- ORCA Computing’s PT-1 quantum computer which combines the natural mapping of photonics with neural networks, ideally suited for integration into classical computing infrastructure and workflows.
- KETS Quantum Security’s demonstration of its key distribution for secure communication.
- Riverlane showcased its quantum resource estimation tool, which generates quantum circuits that can be read directly by a quantum computer.
- Bristol University demonstrated its prototype of multi-quantum user access.
- Bath University presented its low loss hollow core fibre prototype.
Attendees also provided valuable feedback on the challenges of integrating quantum technologies into secure data centre environments as well as creating a hybrid quantum-classical environment within the data centre.
The Quantum Data Centre of the Future project marks a step towards the development of a quantum internet, ensuring that it can function as well with digital information as the internet model currently in place.
As quantum technologies mature and show promise for solving near-term problems, it is critical that the significant near-term value created with quantum/classical hybrid systems be available at scale.
To learn more about the quantum photonic systems that we showcased at the event, please visit our technology page here.
