The Chatterjee Group (TCG) is set to embark on a groundbreaking project, the construction of a superconducting quantum computer in India. The project will be carried out at TCG Centres for Research and Education in Science & Technology (TCG Crest), located in Sector V, Salt Lake, Kolkata. The first phase of the computer is expected to be completed by the end of this year, with a further scale-up in 2-3 years. The total cost of the project is estimated to be Rs 100 crore, with an initial investment of around Rs 10 crore. The TCG Crest aims to leverage the quantum computer for frontier research and to train Indian scientists in quantum computing.
Currently, only a few countries possess quantum computing capabilities. Quantum computers are capable of outperforming classical computers in certain applications, such as drug development. The TCG Crest will be using a dilution refrigerator imported from Finland, which operates at a temperature just 0.01 degree Celsius above absolute zero, as the first building block for the hardware. This marks the start of the highly complex task of setting up superconductivity qubits based quantum computer, in consultation with the Tata Institute for Fundamental Research, Mumbai.
The first qubit will be procured from TIFR, while subsequent development of the qubits for the superconducting quantum computer will be carried out in-house at TCG Crest. The centre has been receiving funding from the central government, allowing CQuERE to use two quantum computers in North America. The team is also collaborating with a startup in Barcelona to set up a special kind of quantum computer known as the quantum annealer for simulating the properties of molecules. The project will be funded by a grant from the European Commission and will also support a PhD scholar from CQuERE. Discussions are underway with the USA and Japan in which CQuERE is expected to play a significant role with its research capabilities in the field of quantum computing.
The TCG Crest’s project comes after the Centre announced National Quantum Mission 2024-31, providing funding worth Rs 6,000 crore. The NQM plans to focus on four areas: quantum computing, quantum sensing and metrology, quantum communication, and quantum materials and devices. The director of the Centre for Quantum Engineering Research & Education under TCG Crest, Bhanu Pratap Das, believes that research at CQuERE covers most of the areas that will be pursued in NQM. With the project at TCG Crest and the funding from the government, India could become a significant player in the field of quantum computing in the coming years.
