A Japanese consortium of research partners has won an award for the successful development of a high-performance hybrid-quantum computing platform.

The consortium is formed of Riken, Fujitsu, NTT, Osaka University, the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology won at the Japan Industrial Technology Awards.

The award recognizes the consortium’s development of a high-performance computing platform that uses Japan’s second domestically-made superconducting quantum computer.

The consortium’s platform implements scalable cloud architecture that allows ‘seamless operation’ of quantum computers and quantum simulators to accelerate collaboration between various companies.

The superconducting quantum bit chip design proposed by the Japanese research institution, Riken, uses a unique three-dimensional mounting layout with scalability that the consortium says can support expansion to the 1,000-qubit level.

The first domestically-made 64-qubit superconducting quantum computer was developed by Riken and Fujitsu and released in March 2023. The quantum computer was made at the Riken RQC-Fujitsu Collaboration Center and is available to access through the cloud for non-commercial uses.

The second quantum computer was released in October 2023 by the consortium to promote industrial research and development and was based on the original quantum computer.

It is part of the hybrid quantum computing platform that also supports Fujitsu’s 40-qubit quantum simulator, which the consortium says is one of the largest simulators in the world.

The research group says that its progress demonstrates the ability of Japanese quantum technologies to withstand the demands of the first stages of industrial application.

The platform was praised for its technological capabilities and for making an important step towards the industrial use of quantum computers in Japan and promotes practical applications for quantum technology in various fields such as materials, finance, and drug discovery.

Earlier this year, Fujitsu delivered a supercomputer to the Japan Meteorological Agency to help authorities forecast extreme weather during natural disasters.