Image credit: Iberdrola
Iberdrola’s Spanish subsidiary, Iberdrola España, and the Basque government have sealed a partnership to drive quantum technology in the Basque Country.
The long-term agreement between Iberdrola España and the Basque government’s Department of Science, Universities and Innovation is focused on carrying out research into the application of quantum computing in different areas of the energy industry, developing new technological capabilities and promoting knowledge transfer.
Under the agreement, which is part of the BasQ (Basque Quantum) Strategy, Iberdrola España will become a member of the IBM-Euskadi Quantum Computing Centre and will be able to access the centre’s IBM Quantum System Two quantum computer system, which is scheduled to be installed in San Sebastian by the end of this year.
This is the first installation in Europe of this state-of-the-art second-generation system powered by IBM’s Heron processors with the Qiskit software stack, following earlier installations in Japan and the US.
Have you read?
Why quantum innovation will be a key enabler for decarbonising energy systems
Europe Energy Briefs: Quantum set for mainstream in Europe
Members of the IBM-Euskadi Quantum Computing Centre will have access to the capabilities and resources to help train the quantum computing workforce, promote economic development and develop new algorithms that contribute to achieving the Basque government’s vision for quantum technologies in areas including AI, the modelling of new materials and new medical diagnostics and therapies.
Iberdrola España and the Basque government also intend to collaborate on applied research, advanced training and scientific outreach projects, with a focus on the possible applications of quantum in the field of energy.
The agreement follows an earlier partnership between Iberdrola’s distribution subsidiary i-DE and the Basque Country headquartered startup Multiverse Computing on quantum algorithms to optimise the placement of batteries on the Spanish grid.
For Iberdrola España, the partnership reaffirms its commitment to innovative technology as a vector for transforming the energy model, according to a statement.
In addition to the smart grid optimisation, the company is exploring the potential of quantum computing to improve weather forecasting, simulate advanced materials and accelerate energy efficiency algorithms.
For the Basque government, the agreement is a first in an anticipated series of public–private partnerships that it is promoting in the context of BasQ to turn the Basque Country into a European hub and benchmark in quantum science, talent training and industrial applications.
