Quantum Computing Breakthrough: HPC Community Urged to Prepare NOW

URGENT UPDATE: A new report reveals that the High Performance Computing (HPC) community must act swiftly to prepare for the imminent arrival of early fault-tolerant quantum computing (eFTQC). Released on September 11, 2025 by Alice & Bob and Hyperion Research, this pivotal study outlines how eFTQC could revolutionize HPC applications within the next five years, dramatically outperforming traditional supercomputers.

The report, titled Seizing Quantum’s Edge: Why and How HPC Should Prepare for eFTQC, emphasizes the urgent need for HPC professionals to invest in hybrid workflows now. As physical limits on classical computing are being reached, quantum technologies present an opportunity to significantly boost various scientific and engineering applications.

Bob Sorensen, senior vice president and chief analyst at Hyperion Research, stated,

“Quantum technologies are a pivotal opportunity for the HPC community, offering the potential to significantly accelerate a wide range of critical science and engineering applications in the near-term.”

However, he cautioned that these advanced machines will not be straightforward to deploy, urging HPC centers to prepare for integration to ensure they can shape system designs and gain crucial operational expertise.

The report highlights that over the past decade, performance gains in classical HPC systems have stagnated due to the constraints of transistor size and chip energy capacity. Yet, the timeline for practical quantum applications has dramatically accelerated. Notably, researchers have achieved a 1,000x reduction in the estimated resources needed to run Shor’s algorithm, signaling a shift toward feasible quantum computing solutions.

The future looks promising, with projections indicating that within five years, quantum computers equipped with 100 to 1,000 logical qubits and a logical error rate ranging from 10-6 to 10-10 will enhance scientific computing, particularly in materials science, quantum chemistry, and fusion energy simulations. Théau Peronnin, CEO of Alice & Bob, noted,

“HPC users will see benefits in accuracy, time-to-solution, and computational cost as hybrid HPC-quantum workflows shift some computationally complex subproblems to quantum processors.”

HPC centers aiming to lead in this transformation must co-design hybrid workflows with users and vendors, build efficient software and hardware infrastructures, and deploy eFTQC prototypes to secure a first-mover advantage. The report offers actionable recommendations for integrating eFTQC with existing GPUs and CPUs, developing application codes, and preparing the HPC workforce for a quantum future.

To maximize the benefits of quantum processing, the report suggests that HPC centers explore heterogeneous workloads through collaborations with quantum vendors. Juliette Peyronnet, US general manager at Alice & Bob, emphasized the urgency of this initiative, stating,

“This work is a call to action for HPC centers to begin preparing for eFTQC integration now, so they are ready to harness the next major HPC accelerator.”

As the HPC community braces for this quantum revolution, the time for action is now. With significant advancements on the horizon, stakeholders must act decisively to capitalize on the transformative potential of quantum computing. The future of scientific computing is at stake, and those who prepare today will lead tomorrow.