Many of the world’s most valuable innovations start with accurate simulation—testing designs, materials, or molecules before building them. Yet some systems are so complex that today’s computers struggle to model them in a useful time. This is especially true in chemistry and materials science, where understanding electronic behaviour can accelerate cleaner energy technologies, better batteries, or new medicines.
Quantum computing offers a path to simulate such systems more efficiently by exploiting quantum physics itself. While fully error-corrected “digital” (i.e. gate-based) quantum computers remain a long-term goal, analogue approaches—tailored quantum devices that natively mimic specific models—can deliver earlier value with fewer qubits.
RoCCQeT aims to prototype analogue quantum processing units (AQPUs) based on superconducting circuits and to provide the software and algorithms needed to use them on real problems.
Our technical objectives are to:
- Develop and validate coherent, scalable hardware (fluxonium-based superconducting processors with flip-chip integration).
- Build the full software stack—control, cloud access, and developer tools—to run problems end-to-end.
- Co-design algorithms and embeddings with the hardware to target quantum chemistry and other industrially relevant use cases.
- Demonstrate practical workflows with early adopters, paving the way to pre-commercial, cloud-accessible quantum services.
By focusing first on chemistry simulations (e.g. small to medium molecules), the project addresses European priorities in energy, sustainability, and health, while strengthening technological autonomy in quantum technologies.
