Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPTResearch project "QUCAM.NRW"
In the research project "QUCAM.NRW – Quantum Computing Application Monitoring NRW", the Fraunhofer IPT and its partners are developing a tool for the systematic analysis and evaluation of quantum computing use cases.
The aim is to demonstrate and offer small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in North Rhine-Westphalia in particular a sound and practical approach to this technology. The project will result in a web-based monitoring tool that identifies future industrial fields of application, evaluates their relevance, and visualizes them clearly.
Quantum computing for structural change
The structural change in North Rhine-Westphalia requires industry to be very open to change. At the same time, new technologies such as quantum computing offer great potential for an economically and technologically successful transformation. For many companies – and especially for SMEs – however, access to these technologies is associated with significant hurdles, whether due to a lack of expertise, limited resources, or missing overview of worthwhile fields of application. This is where QUCAM.NRW comes in.
This project is dedicated to two tasks that have been little researched to date: the identification and the evaluation of promising industrial applications for quantum computers. Together with manufacturing companies from North Rhine-Westphalia – in this case, for example, from the chemical and automotive sector, which are important industries not only in North Rhine-Westphalia – the project partners are developing a user-friendly approach for identifying suitable applications. To this end, the project team is determining the characteristics of corresponding tasks with a high proportion of complex data processing that indicate significant potential for quantum computing. This approach is supplemented by a systematic procedure, which is based on well-known innovation methods such as TRIZ.
Making the suitability of quantum computing for industrial applications measurable
Based on this analysis, a metric will be created that supports a techno-economic assessment. Among other things, it will take into account the maturity and performance of the quantum hardware that would be required for the specific task. To this end, an analysis will be carried out to determine the extent to which algorithms from application fields such as simulation, optimization, cryptography, or machine learning can be implemented more efficiently than on classical computers. Properties such as the number of variables to be optimized or the required coherence time are translated into technical requirements and compared with the current roadmaps of leading hardware manufacturers.
These methods will be validated by a consortium study with companies from North Rhine-Westphalia. The project partners then identify promising use cases in workshops and expert interviews and make the results available using the tool they have developed. The monitoring tool "QUCAM" will be a web-based application to be used free of charge by the target group. The goal is to help companies make strategic decisions about the use of quantum computing with limited resources.
Science transfer: Fraunhofer and universities working hand in hand with companies in North Rhine-Westphalia
As usual at Fraunhofer, this project also aims to transfer scientific findings into economic value creation. However, QUCAM.NRW specifically links basic research at universities and institutes in North Rhine-Westphalia with industrial applications. To this end, the project also cooperates with the EIN Quantum NRW initiative.
QUCAM.NRW is coordinated by the Fraunhofer IPT in Aachen. Other project partners include ARQUE Systems GmbH and the II. Physikalisches Institut (Institute of Physics II) of the RWTH Aachen University. The project will run for approximately two and a half years, from September 2024 to December 2026. It is funded by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The program is managed by Projektträger Jülich (PTJ).
Project Consortium
- Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT, Aachen (Coordination)
- ARQUE Systems GmbH Aachen
- RWTH Aachen University, Institute of Physics II
Project Sponsor
Projektträger Jülich (PTJ)
Funding
The "QUCAM.NRW" project is funded by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Funding reference: 005-2310-0042
