Archer Materials may have quantum advantage in fighting climate change

Archer Materials Ltd (ASX:AXE) (OTCMKTS:ARRXF) (FRA:38A) welcomes a recent report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) ‘A Quantum Advantage in Fighting Climate Change’ which focuses on how quantum computing could provide economic solutions for companies and governments to fight climate change.

According to BCG, quantum computing could contribute to solutions that change how power is stored and generated; how houses, cars, ships and aeroplanes are built; how transportation is powered; and even how industrial processes such as cement, steel and fertiliser manufacturing are designed.

¹²CQ chip well-placed

The company’s ¹²CQ quantum computing chip is well-placed to lead this drive into power storage technology with a potentially global impact.

Archer Materials CEO Dr Mohammad Choucair said: “Archer is a materials technology company with a focus on developing innovative deep tech that has the potential for global impact.

“One of those technologies is our ¹²CQ quantum computing chip.”

The company’s quantum computing chip is a world-first quantum processor technology that Archer aims to build for quantum computing operation at room-temperature and integration onboard modern electronic devices.

Archer is focused on achieving the major technological milestone of qubit control and has completed the preliminary stages of quantum measurements towards qubit control by successfully characterising optimised and unoptimised QC devices.

Information obtained, such as device response to ‘pulse sequences’, will greatly expedite further progress in the ¹²CQ qubit control measurements.

The company has a market cap of approximately A$117.1 million and shares last traded at A$0.525, up from A$0.43 at market close on November 2, 2020.

Near-term impacts

Archer’s technological developments align with the BCG report which states that quantum computing’s impact is not as distant as some might assume.

Recent advances indicate that quantum computers are potentially able to contribute to the highest-impact technologies for combating climate change and therefore start changing the economics for businesses in several industries in the near-term.

Almost 50 quantum computing publications with applications in chemistry have been made in the last few years by organisations in the IBM Q Network – of which Archer is a member.

Technology roadmap

Using a real quantum computer, research teams from Exxon Mobil and IBM computed important information about hydrogen molecules – an important chemical for the development of fertilisers, in energy storage, and water splitting and purification.

Dr Choucair said: “It is amazing what has been achieved in the quantum ecosystem to date with only a few-qubit quantum computing hardware, considering current technology roadmaps by IBM and others involve a track to thousands of qubits over the next few years.”

IBM, Daimler AG and Mercedes Benz R&D have published work in the area of quantum algorithms and machine learning for use in lithium-ion batteries, and have used a 4-qubit quantum computing device to simulate industrially relevant products in lithium-sulphur batteries.

However, to generate a truly global impact, the report notes that quantum-enabled technologies will need to be successfully industrialised and deployed worldwide.

Future potential detailed in report

The BCG report goes into detail on early applications for quantum computing in emissions reduction, including developing new catalysts, materials, and fluid dynamics.

It summarises instances quantum computing hardware has been applied to simulating molecular and material chemistry, and reviews near-term applications that would be both beneficial and relevant to industrial use.

To read the full BCG report click here.

Story by ProactiveInvestors