The Galician Supercomputing Center (Cesga) has reached an agreement with Fujitsu by which the Japanese company will manufacture a quantum computer for an agreement of 13.9 million euros. The Japanese and Galician computer will be the most powerful in Spain and one of the first in Europe.
The contract was signed this Thursday and as announced by the president of the Xunta, Alfonso Rueda, it will be financed through the Galician Innovation Agency, to thus promote technological research in the community. In this sense, President Rueda affirmed that his arrival will provide a service to companies that need his calculation capacity to optimize their operation.
Galicia at the forefront of technology
The objective of the Xunta de Galicia and Javier Rueda is to place the Galician community at the forefront of technology more emergent. Fujitsu’s computer will be the main infrastructure of the quantum technology hub promoted by the Xunta, which has already been financed with more than 30 million euros and which is expected to reach figures close to 150 million euros.
The Japanese computer will complete the investment of 7.5 million euros in the Finisterrae III supercomputer, and is offered as follows to all academic and business sectorsfrom the field of medicine, biotechnology or aeronautics in order to increase security in data transmission, improve planning or production scheduling.
A broad and comprehensive agreement
The Galician agreement with Fujitsu regarding the computer that will have a 32-bit quantum capacityTherefore, Galicia will surpass the supercomputing center of Barcelona since its computer will have two more cubits than the one that is planned to be installed this year in the city of Barcelona.
The Galician firm with the Japanese company includes a comprehensive program that enriches the agreement. In addition to the computer, the creation of the International Center of Excellence in Quantum Technologies in Galicia is added, a collaboration plan with Galician universities in training and retention of talent, and a research and development project with other entities and with the private sector.
In the same way, a consulting plan is added to the agreement to identify industrial applications, a quantum R&D research program, training scholarships and plans to facilitate business uses, as well as the commitment of the Japanese firm to organize a international event on quantum technology annually in Galicia. This event will create at least five direct jobs.
The Community of Madrid will create a quantum computing technology cluster
Last Wednesday, in the intervention of Carlos Izquierdo at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the Department of Local Administration and Digitization of the Community of Madrid announced the creation of a new business group in the technology sector that will specialize in quantum computing. With this, there will be five, where engineers will develop for the regional government algorithms applied to improvement in the health, environmental and social fields.
The community counselor assured in his statements that they are already working to make it a reality in the next legislaturea fact that will thus allow the Community of Madrid “to lead the data center market in the south of the continent”.
The objective of the Madrid community with the creation of the fifth cluster is attract entrepreneurs and investors, and it is that in the words of Izquierdo, it would be the first in Spain. In addition, they want to establish collaborations with research organizations, favor the retention of talent, the implementation of a specific chair of quantum computing, increase the capacity for innovation and technological development of companies, as well as their productivity and competitiveness.
This fifth cluster is added to the Digital Transformation cluster in Torrejón de Ardoz, the Internet of Things (IoT) in Las Rozas, the Artificial Intelligence cluster in Leganés and the Blockchain cluster in Tres Cantos.
