Google: Hey UK, help us find a use for quantum chips

Researchers can unlock grants and quantum expertise

Google plans to work with researchers in the UK to develop use cases for its new quantum chip, Willow.

The tech giant will work with the UK’s National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) to open quantum technology access up to more researchers.

Researchers and research consortia in the UK will be able to submit their proposals to access Willow for “high-impact, innovative projects,” the NQCC said.

The proposals will need to include a description of the intended experiments or applications; the scientific rationale behind them; and how access to Willow could enable “transformative” results.

The NQCC is specifically looking for applications that quantum devices – which operate in a completely different way to classic machines and have the potential to solve uncrackable problems for today’s computers – are uniquely suited for.

The successful research team will work with Google experts to design and conduct their experiment. They will also benefit from research grants from the NQCC.

Professor Paul Stevenson of the University of Surrey, who was not involved in the agreement, told the BBC it is “great news for UK researchers.”

He added that the deal puts UK researchers in “an enviable position.”

Google first announced its Willow chip in 2024, competing with rivals like Amazon and IBM.

Seen as a step forward in the field, Willow can use qubit scale to exponentially reduce errors – a key challenge in quantum error correction.

Typically the more qubits used, the higher the error rate, as qubits exchange information with their environment very rapidly. That makes it difficult to protect necessary information.

However, Willow was shown halving the error rate when scaling from a 3x3 qubit grid to 5x5, and halving again at 7x7.

The ability to get “below threshold,” as it is known in the quantum field, has been a challenge since quantum error correction was first proposed in 1995.