07 December 2021

A “pioneering” Smart Internet Lab at the University of Bristol will work with industry partners to develop the first blueprint for a quantum data centre, as part of UKRI’s £170M Commercialising Quantum Technologies Challenge.

Quantum technologies in the form of quantum computing and communications promise to provide solutions to some of the most challenging problems. However, to date, little is understood from a systems perspective about how to integrate existing data centres.

The Quantum Data Centre of the Future project will commence in early 2022, bringing experts in classical data centres and networking together with experts in quantum computing and quantum communications, to develop the first blueprint for a quantum data centre.

The project will leverage the significant research strengths of the University of Bristol’s High Performance Networks Group in classical data centre, quantum Internet and quantum networking.

“This is a truly exciting initiative,” said professor Reza Nejabati, head of high Performance Networks Research Group in the Smart Internet Lab. “Adapting quantum computing and network systems to work in a data centre setting will require significant acts of invention and creativity. “In collaboration with the project partners, we aim to design, develop and demonstrate a solution for integrating a quantum computer in a classical data centre as well as providing remote quantum secure access to quantum computers at scale and in a data centre setting.”