EPFL Partners with Quantinuum for First Swiss Academic Cloud Access to Trapped-Ion Quantum Computers via SCITAS Platform

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) has become the first Swiss academic institution to provide its researchers with cloud access to advanced quantum computers. Through a collaboration between the EPFL Center for Quantum Science and Engineering (QSE) and SCITAS, under an agreement with Quantinuum, the access is fully integrated into EPFL’s high-performance computing platform.

Quantinuum Trapped-Ion Systems Integration

The partnership grants EPFL researchers direct cloud access to Quantinuum’s trapped-ion quantum computers, recognized for high operational fidelity and low decoherence rates. These systems employ a quantum charge-coupled device (QCCD) architecture in which individual ions serve as qubits. Electromagnetic fields suspend the ions above a chip surface while lasers perform gate operations, enabling all-to-all connectivity by physically rearranging qubits as needed.

Access is delivered through the existing SCITAS high-performance computing environment. Users interact with the remote quantum processors from the familiar HPC interface without separate tools or workflows. This arrangement supports hybrid classical-quantum job submission and leverages SCITAS operational expertise for local support. Vincenzo Savona, professor in the School of Basic Sciences and academic director of the QSE Center, noted that Quantinuum’s machines rank among the most powerful and cleanest available, with the lowest levels of decoherence and therefore closest to ideal quantum behavior.

Gilles Fourestey, operational director of SCITAS, described the collaboration as illustrating complementarity between a robust HPC service platform and a center driving transdisciplinary quantum research. The integration allows remote quantum systems to be reached directly from the established SCITAS interface, supporting scalable scientific workloads alongside traditional high-performance computing resources.

Advancing Algorithms and Student Training

EPFL researchers already specialize in quantum algorithms and theoretical quantum computing. The new resource enables experiments that extend beyond purely theoretical studies or small-scale numerical simulations. Planned work includes digital quantum simulation of complex many-body systems and investigations into which classes of calculations quantum hardware can perform more efficiently than classical machines.

Giuseppe Carleo, associate professor and head of the Computational Quantum Science Laboratory, stated that the access opens the door to experiments using some of the best quantum hardware currently available to the academic community. Zoë Holmes, assistant professor and head of the Quantum Information and Computing Group, plans to examine whether current hardware can implement calculations that are usefully hard rather than merely classically difficult.

The QSE Center is also exploring models to extend access to students in EPFL’s Master’s program in Quantum Science and Engineering. Nicolas Macris, professor and co-director of the master’s program, emphasized that hands-on experience with state-of-the-art hardware and software tools is increasingly important as the technology advances. Savona compared the initiative to EPFL’s on-campus nuclear reactor that supports world-leading nuclear engineering training, arguing that real quantum computer access will deliver equivalent practical excellence for quantum computing education.

Researchers can now propose projects that require quantum hardware and thereby pursue Richard Feynman’s vision of using a complex quantum system to compute and simulate the complexities of quantum mechanics. A competitive call for research proposals administers the limited computing capacity.

Bottom Line

EPFL’s SCITAS-integrated access to Quantinuum quantum computers strengthens Swiss academic capacity in quantum algorithms and simulation.

Find out more here.

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