Moscow, November 25, 2020 – The establishment of a new national project – the National Quantum Laboratory (NQL) – has been announced. The consortium created under the auspices of ROSATOM is going to adopt the international best practices and unite efforts and resources of key universities, research centers, technological companies, financial organizations, start-ups, and development teams in quantum computers. Similar national programs have already been launched in European, American and Asian markets.
There are seven organizations, which have joined the laboratory: JV Kvant (a ROSATOM company), NRU HSE, MISIS, MIPT (NRU), P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute of RAS, Russian Quantum Center and Skolkovo Foundation. There are plans for more organizations to join the consortium. Ruslan Yunusov, Head Project Office for Quantum Technologies of ROSATOM, heads the National Quantum Laboratory (NQL).
The participants will focus on the development of new and renovation of existing infrastructure and staff training. The nano-fabrication center of 2,000 square meters and the advanced laboratory complex of 3,500 square meters will be built in Skolkovo. The equipment will be used for new laboratories and improvement of existing ones of NQL participants. The modern infrastructure network will allow improving the quality of research and scientific developments, including those under the framework of the quantum computation roadmap.
In order to build up the staff, the consortium will launch quantum education programs starting from the school level, and implement standards of training and retraining. The NQL participants will pay special attention to the involvement of foreign experts in areas where they are needed the most. Students, post-graduates and young researchers will be able to learn from renowned scientists and use such experience in the development of domestic quantum computers on four main platforms: superconductors, ions, neutral atoms and photons.
Research and educational institutions, state-owned corporations, industrial start-ups and representatives of the business and invest communities interested in implementation of the quantum computation projects are welcome to participate. The consortium members will receive methodological, marketing and analytical support, including assistance in hiring staff and attraction of partners (start-up teams, among other, will get priority access to the incubator and accelerator).
ROSATOM General Director Alexey Likhachev, while commenting on the creation of NQL, called quantum technologies one of the main breakthroughs, which would determine the future of scientific and technical progress. “Today, quantum computing and quantum computer are the field of competition for the world scientific schools and technological giants. There are normal games for the leadership in this area. I am sure that the National Quantum Laboratory will contribute a lot to high positions of our country in this area,” Likhachev said.
Addressing the consortium members, Director of Digitalization at ROSATOM Ekaterina Solntseva stressed that the creation of NQL was a step to build a sustainable ecosystem of quantum computing in Russia and its move to the international level. “NQL will unite representatives of science, business, and innovations. Its participants may be not only large players but also small start-ups. This will build up the succession pool of the industry in the quantum area. We will create scientific groups composed of the best Russian specialists and can invite scientists, who have competences, which are not available in our country, from abroad. The level of the technological task is such that all countries having serious ambitions in the quantum area are following the way of accumulation of efforts. This is the way to bring the result. NQL will become an active participant of the international quantum dialogue when it matches large world projects of other leader-countries,” Solntseva said.
“Experience of world leaders in quantum computations has shown that you may achieve prominent results only by creating national programs supported on the highest governmental level. The consolidation of the main local market participants is right and very logical measure which was achieved by American, Asian and European colleagues. Exchange of competences, developments and information, mutual assistance and acting as single brand significantly support the national standing on the global arena. The launch of NQL is the key step to the development of all domestic industry of quantum technologies,” Ruslan Yunusov, Head Project Office for Quantum Technologies at ROSATOM, said.
