Newsroom / Press release

EuroQCS-France will soon enable remote access to a Quandela photonic quantum computer to the European open research community, months before the deployment of the 12-qubit universal digital photonic quantum computer called Lucy.

Atlanta, Lisbon, 18/11/2024 On the occasion of the SuperComputing 2024 (SC24) conference, held in Atlanta (GA) from November 17th to 22nd, and the European Quantum Technologies Conference, held in Lisbon (Portugal) from November […]

Atlanta, Lisbon, 18/11/2024

On the occasion of the SuperComputing 2024 (SC24) conference, held in Atlanta (GA) from November 17th to 22nd, and the European Quantum Technologies Conference, held in Lisbon (Portugal) from November 18th to 20nd, the EuroQCS-France consortium, led by GENCI and CEA and part of EuroHPC’ pan European HPC/QC hybrid infrastructure, announces it will provide early remote access to a Quandela 6-qubit universal digital photonic quantum computer to the European open research community before the Lucy system is installed in France next year.

Anticipating Lucy’s deployment, expected mid-2025

GENCI and CEA, respectively Hosting Entity and Hosting Site of the Lucy EuroHPC’ quantum computer within the EuroQCS-France consortium, had already started exposing tools to help academic and industrial open research communities get acquainted with the specificities of linear optics quantum computing (LOQC). Perceval, the programming and emulation environment provided by Quandela, has been available on the Joliot-Curie supercomputer for over a year. Taking a step further in this approach, the EuroQCS-France consortium will soon provide access to a remote 6-qubit Quandela device until the Lucy system is fully deployed and operational at TGCC, CEA’s computing center. End-users will be able to write their code using Perceval and then to run it on the remote system.

Lucy is the name of the 12-qubit universal digital photonic quantum computer acquired by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (JU) to a consortium formed by the French company Quandela and its German partner attocube systems AG. It will be installed mid-2025 at TGCC, CEA’s computing center located in the south of Paris, and coupled with GENCI’s Joliot-Curie supercomputer, just like the Pasqal “Ruby” system acquired in the context of the HPCQS European project. Lucy will be part of an unprecedented constellation of six EuroHPC quantum computers, each one relying on a different hardware technology: scalable superconducting qubits (Euro-Q-Exa, consortium led by LRZ in Germany), star-shaped superconducting qubits (LUMI-Q, IT4Innovation, Czech Republic), trapped ions (EuroQCS-Poland, PSNC, Poland), quantum annealing (EuroQCS-Spain, BSC-CNS, Spain), neutral atoms (EuroQCS-Italy, CINECA, Italy) and single photons (EuroQCS-France, GENCI/CEA, France). So far, four of these systems have been acquired to IQM (Euro-Q-Exa and LUMI-Q), AQT (EuroQCS-Poland), Quandela and attocube systems AG (EuroQCS-France).

Quandela providing expert support to promote research in linear optics quantum computing

On top of this remote preparatory access, end-users will be able to request support from one of Quandela’s experts in LOQC to help them build the applications that will ultimately run on the 12-qubit Lucy system. “Linear optics quantum computing is a very exciting and complex paradigm, with lots of potential use cases. However, we are well aware it also comes with a learning curve and we must make sure users have the right tools and the right level of support to tackle it.”, stated jointly Philippe LAVOCAT, CEO and Chairman of GENCI and Jacques-Charles LAFOUCRIERE, Program Director at CEA and Coordinator of the France Hybrid HPC Quantum Initiative (HQI, which is co-funding Lucy and Ruby).

Niccolo Somaschi, CEO of Quandela stated: “We are eager to expose the Lucy system in the EuroHPC quantum computer galaxy, and in the meantime, very happy to be able to support end-users in their acquisition of the LOQC paradigm.” The access modalities for these services will soon be available on GENCI’s DARI platform.

Any question about these new services and the EuroQCS-France project? Don’t hesitate to come visit CEA’s, EuroHPC Joint Undertaking’s and Quandela’s booths, respectively #4143, #4249 and #4450, at the SC24 conference in the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta from November 17th to 22nd

About

GENCI

Created by the French public authorities in 2007, GENCI (Grand Équipement National de Calcul Intensif) is a major research infrastructure. This public operator aims to democratise the use of digital simulation through high performance computing associated with the use of artificial intelligence, and quantum computing to support French scientific and industrial competitiveness.

GENCI is in charge of three missions:

  • To implement the national strategy for the provision of high-performance computing resources, storage, massive data processing associated with Artificial Intelligence technologies and quantum computing, for the benefit of French scientific research, in conjunction with the 3 national computing centres (CEA/TGCC, CNRS/IDRIS, France Universités/CINES).
  • Supporting the creation of an integrated ecosystem on a national and European level
  • Promoting digital simulation and supercomputing to academic research and industry

GENCI is a civil company 49% owned by the State represented by the Ministry in charge of Higher Education and Research, 20% by the CEA, 20% by the CNRS, 10% by the Universities represented by France Universités and 1% by Inria.

Regarding the national quantum strategy GENCI is partner together with CEA and Inria of HQI, the French HPC hybrid Quantum Initiative. 

Follow GENCI on LinkedIn, and visit their website https://www.genci.fr/

Follow HQI on LinkedIn, and visit their website https://www.hqi.fr/

CEA

The CEA is tasked with guiding public decisions and providing the scientific and technical means that civil society (businesses and local authorities) needs to better manage major societal changes, such as the energy transition, digital transformation, future healthcare, defence and global security. Its mission is supported by 20,000 employees and 9 research centres equipped with major research facilities that provide an innovative environment conducive to academic and industrial partnerships in France, Europe and abroad.

Follow CEA on LinkedIn, and visit their website www.cea.fr

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BTQ Technologies Signs MOU with Quandela to Advance Quantum Proof-of-Work Protocols

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  • BTQ and Quandela MOU: BTQ Technologies and Quandela have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly explore how photonic quantum computing can advance energy-efficient blockchain validation through BTQ’s Quantum Sampling Proof-of-Work (QSPoW) protocol.
  • Future Proofing Bitcoin: QSPoW is a Bitcoin-inspired quantum-secure and energy-efficient alternative to traditional PoW mining, aimed at preserving the integrity of the world’s largest digital asset in the face of advancing quantum threats.
  • Quantum Meets Blockchain: The collaboration focuses on leveraging Quandela’s real and simulated boson-sampling data to test QSPoW’s performance, with the goal of reducing the computational and energy demands of traditional Proof-of-Work systems.
  • Path to Commercialization: If performance benchmarks are met, the companies will explore commercialization opportunities, including the potential integration of Quandela’s Belenos quantum processor into future quantum-secure blockchain systems.

VANCOUVER, BC, May 22, 2025 /CNW/ – BTQ Technologies Corp. (the “Company”) (CBOE CA: BTQ) (FSE: NG3) (OTCQX: BTQQF), a global quantum technology company focused on securing mission-critical networks, is pleased to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Quandela SAS (“Quandela”), a pioneering French quantum computing company renowned for its NISQ-era photonic quantum computing platform.

This collaboration marks a strategic step forward in evaluating how emerging quantum technologies can enhance blockchain systems. The partnership will center on BTQ’s Quantum Sampling Proof-of-Work (QSPoW) protocol—a novel approach to blockchain validation that aims to significantly reduce energy usage while strengthening cryptographic security.

Under the MOU, BTQ and Quandela will jointly explore several strategic areas. These include investigating real-world use cases for Quandela’s photonic quantum computing platform, working together on the use of Quandela’s boson-sampling technology—both simulated and real—through its Perceval cloud platform, and analyzing how this data performs in BTQ’s Quantum Sampling Proof-of-Work (QSPoW) testnet. Based on the outcomes of this analysis, the two companies will also evaluate potential pathways for commercialization.

Proof-of-Work (PoW) systems—like those used by Bitcoin—rely on massive computing power to validate transactions. BTQ’s QSPoW replaces this with boson sampling, a quantum process where light particles (photons) pass through an optical network to generate hard-to-predict outcomes. These outcomes can serve as a quantum secure and energy-efficient alternative to traditional PoW, and because this problem is hard to solve on non-quantum computers, the protocol is resistant to power hungry ASIC devices. QSPoW also creates a path towards creating a quantum-safe store of value by incorporating properties of quantum mechanics into the PoW consensus algorithm, ensuring no quantum adversary will be able to control the network. This approach directly addresses the growing threat quantum technologies pose to digital assets like Bitcoin, a concern recently highlighted in BlackRock’s amendment to its risk disclosure in its S-1 filing.

While various actors in the Bitcoin community are taking steps to enable the uses of cryptographic algorithms that would be resistant to advanced quantum computers, there is no guarantee that new quantum-proof architectures will be built and appropriate transitions will be implemented across the network at scale in a timely manner; any such changes could require the achievement of broad consensus within the Bitcoin network community and a fork (or multiple forks), and there can be no assurance that such consensus would be achieved or the changes implemented successfully.” – BlackRock, Inc. (2025). S-1 Registration Statement: iShares® Bitcoin Trust ETF. SEC.gov. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1980994/000143774925015853/bit20250418_posam.htm

As quantum computers become more powerful, the security of Bitcoin  comes under increasing threat. Today, Bitcoin relies on traditional cryptographic frameworks and Proof-of-Work to keep the network secure—approaches that future quantum machines may be able to break. BTQ’s Quantum Sampling Proof-of-Work (QSPoW) is being developed as a next-generation solution that could help protect Bitcoin from these emerging risks, while also using far less energy than current mining methods.

As part of the collaboration, Quandela will deliver datasets tailored to BTQ’s technical requirements, which will include both simulated quantum data and experimental results where feasible. BTQ will use this data to conduct tests on its QSPoW testnet and will share its performance analysis with Quandela. Together, the two companies will also explore techniques to reduce errors in quantum processes and will assess how Quandela’s Belenos quantum processor could be integrated into future versions of the QSPoW protocol.

“This MOU reflects our shared ambition to advance real-world applications for quantum hardware and software,” said Olivier Roussy Newton, CEO of BTQ Technologies. “We’re excited to work with Quandela to rigorously test our QSPoW protocol and set the foundation for a new generation of blockchain security.”

Niccolo Somaschi, CEO of Quandela, added: “Partnering with BTQ highlights the versatility and promise of our photonic quantum platform. This collaboration is a great opportunity to demonstrate how quantum technologies can be used for emerging cryptographic protocols.”

The MOU outlines a framework for ongoing cooperation, information sharing, and public announcements of any meaningful scientific or commercial outcomes.

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Quandela to launch Belenos, the world’s most powerful photonic quantum computer

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  • An exponential growth: 4,000 times more powerful than the previous generation
  • A new technological milestone just two years after the launch of the first photonic quantum computer in the cloud
  • Qubits expected to double within a year, multiplying power by 16 million

Paris,  May 22nd 2025 – Quandela, the leader in quantum computing, announces the launch of Belenos, the world’s most powerful photonic quantum computer. This is a key milestone in the company’s Roadmap 2030, which is on track to meet its ambitious timeline. Accessible to commercial and industrial partners in the cloud, Belenos offers 4,000 times more computing power than the previous generation, unveiled just two years ago with the launch of the first photonic quantum computer in the cloud. The first fully integrated version will be delivered in a supercomputer at the end of 2025.

Exponential growth in computing power

Based at Quandela’s headquarters in Massy near Paris, Belenos is now available in the cloud to more than 1,200 researchers and partner companies in 30 countries: nearly two-thirds of them are European (40% French), with a significant share of the user base located in North America and Asia.

This new generation of quantum computer, with its 12 photonic qubits, represents a major technological advance compared with the previous 6-qubit version launched at the end of 2022. This progress far exceeds Moore’s Law, which predicts a doubling in the performance of conventional processors every two years.

The next generation, called Canopus, expected in just one year’s time, will double the number of qubits once more, resulting in a 16 million-fold increase in computing power. Within three years, Quandela plans to develop a quantum computer with more than 40 qubits, whose power will exceed the simulation capabilities of any conventional computer.

Revolutionary real-life applications

This technological leap means that innovative algorithms can now be tested on physical machines to speed up certain AI calculations, such as image classification and generation, as demonstrated during the BMW-Airbus challenge which Quandela won in December 2024. As a result, hundreds of international researchers working on the company’s cloud platform can now explore new frontiers, particularly in the field of quantum machine learning (QML).

While education and research represent a solid basis for the activity of Quandela’s partners, the business community is showing promising momentum, and already accounts for 25% of uses, illustrating the accelerating adoption of quantum technologies in the private sector.

The following use cases already identified by EuroHPC will benefit from HPC-Quantics coupling: electromagnetic simulation, structural mechanics, combustion in engines, materials simulation, meteorology and earth observation.

A first integrated version will be delivered to EuroHPC/GENCI and operated at the CEA’s Très Grand Centre de Calcul (TGCC) by the end of 2025.

A timeline that delivers on its promises with an ambitious vision

The commissioning of Belenos demonstrates Quandela’s ability to meet its bold agenda. This step is in line with the technological roadmap to 2030 unveiled last autumn (see press release of 11 October 2024).

« We are extremely proud of this new development. Cloud access to Belenos now offers to our partners the possibility to explore use cases where the speed of calculation and the number of computational operations per data point are essential; these capabilities, offered by Belenos, are inaccessible to the competition. This paves the way for concrete applications in machine learning and at the interface between AI and quantum, in sectors that are as varied as they are strategic for the future », declares Niccolo Somaschi, co-founder and CEO of Quandela.

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Quandela strengthens its management team with the appointment of Alberto Peruzzo, a pioneer in quantum photonics and quantum computing, as VP NextGen Quantum Computers 

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Paris, April 29, 2025 – Quandela, a European leader in quantum computing, announces the appointment of Professor Alberto Peruzzo as VP NextGen Quantum Computers. Alberto is an internationally recognized expert in quantum photonics, quantum algorithms, and scalable quantum computer architectures. He joins Quandela to accelerate the development of scalable, fault-tolerant quantum processors, as part of the company’s roadmap toward large-scale universal quantum computing. 

At 46 years old, Alberto Peruzzo brings over 18 years of experience at the cutting edge of quantum technologies. Most recently, he served as Head of Quantum Computing at Qubit Pharmaceuticals, where he focused on applying quantum algorithms to molecular modeling and drug discovery. Previously, he held academic and leadership roles as Director of the Quantum Photonics Laboratory in Melbourne, Principal Investigator at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology, and Node Director within the same network. Throughout his career, he has combined scientific leadership with strategic vision to advance quantum technologies, contributing both to fundamental research and to practical applications in quantum computing. 

Alberto Peruzzo, VP NextGen Quantum Computers at Quandela 

I am thrilled to join Quandela at a time when the foundations of large-scale quantum computing are being laid. Photonics is particularly well positioned to deliver scalable quantum systems, and I look forward to working with the team to make fault-tolerant quantum processors a reality,” said Alberto Peruzzo, newly appointed VP NextGen Quantum Computers at Quandela

Alberto is known for his ability to combine deep scientific expertise with a strategic vision for the commercialization of quantum technologies. At Quandela, he will lead the Next Gen Quantum Computers team, coordinating the definition and implementation of the architecture for future scalable quantum processors. 

Alberto is a leading figure in the quantum photonics community and brings a rare combination of academic excellence and system-level vision. His leadership will be instrumental in advancing our roadmap toward the development of large-scale fault-tolerant quantum processors,” said Niccolo Somaschi, co-founder and CEO of Quandela

Quandela is one of the most exciting quantum companies in the world, leading the race in quantum photonics. I’m excited to join this exceptional team and contribute to the development of the next generation of quantum processors — pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in scalable, fault-tolerant quantum computing,” concluded Alberto Peruzzo.