IonQ Advances Quantum Co-Design with Sandia and Launches Tennessee Quantum Communications Center with EPB

IonQ has advanced two complementary initiatives within days of each other. On August 4, 2026, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Sandia National Laboratories to accelerate co-design of quantum information science technologies for U.S. national security applications, with activities centered at New Mexico’s Quantum Demonstration Facility. One day earlier, IonQ and EPB, Chattanooga’s energy and communications provider, announced the Tennessee Quantum Communications Research Center, funded by a five-year $15 million (€13.0 million) IonQ commitment. The center will house the world’s first commercial Quantum Memory embedded in an operational fiber-optic network and builds on the partners’ existing work at the EPB Quantum Center.

Co-Design Pathways and Quantum Memory Integration

The Sandia MOU explores system optimization, device development, characterization, testing, and quantum networking aligned with government missions. Dr. Rick Muller, SVP and Chief Scientist of IonQ Federal, noted Sandia fabricated the ion traps for IonQ’s earliest quantum computers, establishing a historic pedigree. The expanded collaboration places IonQ hardware and applications teams alongside Sandia expertise in trapped-ion fabrication and silicon photonics, domains which most directly determine scaling speed and inter-processor connectivity. Toby Townsend, Associate Laboratories Director for Deterrence, Science and Energy, stated the partnership leverages complementary strengths to translate research into practical solutions for critical government missions while sustaining U.S. leadership.

In parallel, the Tennessee center addresses a core networking requirement. Quantum Memories storing and processing quantum information over fiber channels are essential for long-range architectures which interconnect quantum computers and link them to end users. IonQ Chairman and CEO Niccolo de Masi described the capability as foundational for the full suite of quantum-communications applications and for commercialization of the quantum internet. The Chattanooga laboratory, staffed by IonQ scientists, sits atop EPB’s live network testbed and extends the partners’ prior collaboration; including the EPB Quantum Network and preparation of an IonQ Forte Enterprise system for commercial deployment.

National Security Footprint and Regional Commercialization

Together the announcements expand IonQ’s operational geography and mission orientation. Participation in Sandia’s Quantum Demonstration Facility, an impartial third-party verification hub for pathways to utility-scale systems, adds a formal New Mexico presence oriented toward national-security and government applications. The Tennessee center deepens IonQ’s Chattanooga footprint, with EPB serving as primary commercialization partner to translate laboratory results into public- and private-sector use cases across the Tennessee Valley corridor. Partners project economic impact from the center of up to two to three times the $15 million investment and support for roughly two dozen jobs.

EPB President and CEO-elect Janet Rehberg highlighted the utility’s record of deploying advanced infrastructure, from community-wide Gigabit fiber to quantum networking. Tennessee officials and Chattanooga leadership framed the center as reinforcing the state’s position in the emerging quantum economy. Independent projections previously estimated EPB’s quantum assets could generate up to $1.1 billion in community benefit over ten years. Both initiatives align with IonQ’s broader platform strategy spanning computing, networking, sensing, and security, advancing hardware and interconnect capabilities under distinct but complementary public-private models.

Bottom Line

IonQ’s Sandia MOU and $15 million EPB center simultaneously advance national-security co-design and commercial quantum-memory networking infrastructure.

Find out more here and here.

—

Further articles, reports, and the latest quantum computing news may be found at The Qubit Report.