The Energy Advantage of Quantum Computers – High Performance Computing News Analysis | insideHPC

By Yuval Boger, Chief Marketing Officer, QuEra Computing Inc.

While quantum computers will eventually be able to solve problems that no classical supercomputer can solve, what happens when quantum systems simply match the performance of classical ones? dictionary for certain problems? So what is the value of a quantum?

A compelling answer: energy efficiency.

Based on data from the list of Top 500 most powerful supercomputers in the world, below is the energy consumption, in kilowatts, of zero supercomputers. #1 ranking system over the past 20 years:

Tables and charts show an increasing trend in energy consumption, with some systems approaching 30 megawatts. In addition to the sheer amount of power consumed by these giant computing machines, they also generate significant amounts of heat, requiring additional energy for cooling, raising overall energy consumption.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average electricity cost in February 2023 for commercial customers was 12.77 cents per kilowatt hour. To calculate the annual electricity cost, we first need to convert the Frontier supercomputer’s power consumption from kilowatts (KW) to kilowatt-hours (kWh), then multiply by the cost per kWh:

• Converting electricity consumption to kWh/year: 21,100 KW * 24 hours/day * 365 days/year = 184,716,000 kWh/year

• Calculate cost: 184,716,000 kWh/year * 0.1277 USD/kWh = approx. $23,589,392.20 per year

In contrast, we know of a publicly accessible quantum computer with over 250 qubits that consumes less than 10 KW, which is less than 0.05% of what the Frontier consumes. The energy usage of a quantum system is not directly proportional to the number of qubits, but even if we assume a quantum computer with 10,000 qubits, we estimate it would only require 100 KW. This is still less than half a percent of the Frontier’s power consumption.

If that quantum computer could perform just 5% of the tasks that Frontier does, it could result in annual savings of more than $1 million and reduce energy consumption by nearly 10 gigawatt hours per year.

Bob Sorensen, Senior Vice President of Research at Hyperion Research, commented on this at a recent event. “How many HPC centers are interested in the potential for energy savings? The answer is very simple. It’s all like that,” he said. “As long as quantum computing can stay in that kilowatt range and stay under three or four orders of magnitude [classical HPCs]The opportunity here to convert power into solutions was completely unappreciated in my mind for the potential of this technology.”

We often hear about “quantum advantage”, when quantum computers perform better than classical computers and solve previously difficult problems. While this is an important and noble goal, a more achievable short-term goal might be to achieve equivalent performance at lower energy consumption. This is akin to the transition from gasoline cars to electric vehicles (EVs), where the goal is not necessarily to outperform traditional cars but to provide a comparable driving experience while reducing significant impact on the environment.

Governments and regulators can play an important role in encouraging businesses to adopt quantum computing as part of their sustainability agenda. For example, they could create policies that encourage the use of energy-efficient technologies, such as tax breaks or subsidies for companies investing in quantum computing. Governments could also fund quantum computing research and development, helping to improve the technology and make it more accessible to businesses, reducing energy consumption.

Quantum computers could not only usher in a new era in computing problem solving, but also be a more sustainable, energy-efficient approach to high-performance computing, harnessing the power of computing power. their size in an environmentally friendly way. Quantum promises a future where increased computing power does not come at the expense of our planet’s resources. This is the true power of quantum computing – a power that goes beyond qubits and algorithms to include sustainability and energy efficiency.