This article first appeared in Digital Edge, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on December 30, 2024 - January 12, 2025

Quantum computing holds immense theoretical promise, but it has yet to prove to be significantly better than classical computing in practical, large-scale applications. Still, Hanhee Paik, head of IBM Quantum in Japan, compares its potential impact to the recent transformative rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI. He predicts that quantum technology will be equally disruptive, and its revolution is just around the corner.

One of the most promising areas that  quantum computing could revolutionise is drug discovery. Traditionally, this process relies on labour-intensive trial and error in laboratories, where scientists painstakingly test molecules to evaluate their interactions with diseases — a method that is both time-consuming and resource-intensive.

Simulating molecules, a task too complex for traditional computers, is a strength of quantum systems. Imagine a molecule as an intricate lock, with a drug acting as the key that must fit perfectly to combat a disease.

Quantum computing enables faster and more accurate molecular simulations, accelerating the drug discovery process and paving the way for new treatments, says Paik.

“Quantum computing uses quantum mechanics as a computational principle. Since quantum mechanics also governs molecular properties, mapping molecular information into quantum computing is very natural,” she tells Digital Edge during a visit to IBM’s research facility in Tokyo.

“However, if you want to encode molecular or chemistry information into classical computing, it takes an exponential number of bits. Because quantum bits are different from classical ones. How we encode and process the information is fundamentally different.”

Quantum computers use quantum bits (qubits) instead of the classical bits used by traditional computers. While classical bits can only represent a 0 or a 1, qubits can represent both 0 and 1 at the same time, thanks to a phenomenon called superposition.

This ability allows quantum computers to handle information in completely new ways, enabling them to solve certain problems much faster than classical computers. For example, they can simulate molecules or optimise complex systems far more efficiently, tackling challenges currently impossible for traditional computers to solve.

Not only can quantum computing provide a significant performance boost in processing, but it also has the potential to solve complex problems much faster than even the most powerful supercomputers today.

In the last eight years, IBM has deployed over 60 quantum computing systems of increasingly improved scale and performance at both IBM facilities and IBM client sites. This includes delivering the 127-qubit IBM Quantum Eagle processor used in IBM’s milestone, demonstrating the ability of today’s quantum systems to operate at a utility-scale.

Utility-scale is the point at which quantum computers can serve as scientific tools to explore new classes of problems in chemistry, physics and materials, and classical simulation of quantum mechanics.

IBM’s latest quantum processor, the 133-qubit Heron, unveiled in December 2023 is the first in a new series of utility-scale quantum processors designed to deliver exceptional performance and reduced error rates.

The IBM Quantum System Two, which features three Heron processors, is the most advanced quantum computing system to date, one of which is showcased at the IBM Quantum Lab in Shin-Kawasaki, Japan.

In a real-life use case for quantum computing mechanics, Paik points at car batteries which leverage quantum computing for material simulations related to catalysts and new materials for energy applications.

“For instance, car companies are investing in research to develop new, more sustainable battery technologies. One promising approach involves lithium-hydride batteries. However, finding the optimal combination of molecules to create these batteries is a complex and resource-intensive process,” she adds.

At this juncture, Paik says, quantum computing offers a potential solution by accelerating the simulation of molecular properties and manipulating calculations for better outcomes. By rapidly calculating the behaviour of different lithium-hydrogen combinations, researchers can identify the most efficient and long-lasting battery designs.

Analysts estimate that by 2035, quantum computing technology could potentially create about US$450 billion to US$850 billion in net income for end users through cost savings and increased revenue. However, a key consideration is that up to 90% of this value may be captured by early adopters in most industries.

According to McKinsey’s “Steady progress in approaching the quantum advantage” report, quantum technology could be worth trillions of dollars within the next decade, with chemicals, the life sciences, finance and mobility first in line to realise its benefits.

But quantum technology is relatively unknown to the broader audience. Paik points out there is a distinct lack of awareness and understanding of this technology.

While quantum computing is at its development stage in many countries, she says IBM offers access to the largest fleet of quantum computers over the cloud and has an ecosystem of more than 600,000 users and more than 250 organisations in the IBM Quantum Network are conducting research and case studies.

The company leads working groups that bring together industry pioneers and scientists to accelerate the effective utilisation of quantum computing in healthcare and life sciences, materials science, high-energy physics and optimisation.

“In Japan, our [IBM] quantum innovation initiative is mostly engaging with enterprises, universities, government agencies and financial services,” adds Paik.

For instance, in April, IBM announced an agreement with RIKEN, a Japanese national research laboratory, to deploy IBM’s next-generation quantum computer architecture and best-performing quantum processor at the RIKEN Center for Computational Science in Kobe, Japan.

RIKEN has dedicated use of an IBM Quantum System Two architecture for the purpose of implementation of its project. Under the project RIKEN and its co-PI SoftBank Corp, with collaborators, University of Tokyo and Osaka University, it aims to demonstrate the advantages of such hybrid computational platforms for deployment as services in the future post-5G era, based on the vision of advancing science and business in Japan

Just as the world transitioned from traditional to technological methods, quantum computing could become the new standard in the years to come. However, instead of a complete takeover, Joseph Broz, vice-president for Quantum Growth and Market Development at IBM says he envisions a future where quantum and classical computers work in tandem.

Broz says quantum computers will handle the most demanding calculations while classical computers will continue to manage everyday tasks with efficiency. This synergistic approach will unlock new possibilities and drive innovation across industries.

“We do not view that quantum computing is going to displace classical computing but instead, the two will be together and it will act as an enhancement [for classical computing]. And that’s very important because there are large investments already made in classical computing and that investment will not only be preserved but enhanced by quantum computers,” says Broz.

“Those systems will work together and we feel that that will be the best environment, particularly in this utility era for quantum computers.”

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