Towards seamless access to European quantum computers
The Q-NRI project establishes the technical and organizational foundations for Norwegian access to LUMI-Q—one of Europe's first large-scale quantum computers, co-funded by EuroHPC and participating member states. Starting in 2025, Norwegian researchers will be able to connect their existing HPC workflows with quantum computing resources through the national e-infrastructure operated by Sigma2 and Simula.
By integrating quantum computing capabilities into established national systems, Q-NRI strengthens Norway’s ability to participate in international collaborations and ensures that Norwegian research groups can fully benefit from the country's investment in EuroHPC infrastructures such as LUMI-Q and the upcoming LUMI-IQ.
SINTEF's role
Bridging research infrastructure and industrial applications, SINTEF contributes its expertise in applied quantum research, software integration, and industry collaboration to the Q-NRI project. Our work focuses on:
- Software integration and optimization: Developing hardware-aware compilation strategies and middleware components that enable efficient execution of quantum algorithms on emerging European quantum platforms.
- Alignment with applied research initiatives: Ensuring interoperability with other national and European projects, including NeQst and QC4DS, to create synergies between quantum computing research, HPC infrastructures, and industry needs.
- Industry engagement: Supporting early pilot use cases that explore quantum-enhanced optimization, simulation, and AI applications in collaboration with Norwegian industrial partners.
This contribution builds directly on SINTEF's experience from NeQst, in which quantum computing is applied to industrial optimization problems, and extends it to a broader national infrastructure context. National collaboration for competence and innovation The project is tightly connected to European and Nordic initiatives such as LUMI-Q and NordIQuEst, ensuring that Norwegian researchers are active contributors to the development of the European quantum research landscape.
Impact
Q-NRI will:
- Provide Norwegian academia, industry, and the public sector with early access to quantum computing resources.
- Support national competence-building through training platforms and pilot experiments.
- Strengthen Norway’s competitiveness in frontier research areas such as hybrid HPC–QC workflows, quantum algorithms, and quantum machine learning.
- Enable applied research and innovation in areas including optimization, materials science, energy systems, and AI.