Quantum computing wielded to create extremely rare material critical to nuclear fusion

Using a quantum computer alongside a supercomputer, scientists have developed a breakthrough pathway for modeling the physics inside a fusion reactor. The world-first experiment could help clear a path to developing clean, abundant nuclear power and solving the global energy crisis, the researchers said.

Using hybrid quantum computing and artificial intelligence (AI) methods, scientists with IBM and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have blueprinted how to make tritium, an extremely rare isotope of hydrogen that's critical to the fusion process.

Although their research — uploaded June 29 to the preprint server arXiv — has not been peer-reviewed, the researchers say it's the first time that different kinds of computing elements have come together to propose the most effective way to create this material.