Press Release

GENCI-led quantum inception program proves value of neutral atoms quantum computing in supporting smart charging for electric vehicles

PARIS, France – January 21, 2025 – Pasqal, a global leader in neutral-atom quantum computing, and the Grand Équipment National de Calcul Intensif (GENCI) have announced the experimental realization of a smart charging use case to successfully run energy demand forecasting on more than 100 qubits. In partnership with EDF – a major leader in energy transition – this project has demonstrated the potential of Pasqal’s technology in tackling forecasting and optimization challenges posed by the growing complexity of energy supply and demand as electric vehicle (EV) purchases increase.

In 2023, 26 percent of new cars sold in France were EVs or plug-in hybrid vehicles—representing a 47 percent increase from the year prior. The growing number of EVs being plugged into the grid, coupled with the diversified portfolio of electricity sources due to the growth of renewables, has created a complex dynamic for predicting and planning electricity demand and distribution. Quantum computing when scaled up, should have the capacity to schedule resource allocation in this increasingly intricate environment, taking into account expected and real-time availability and strain for more accurate forecasting of energy demand. Pasqal’s neutral atoms quantum technology can handle such complex sets of data—delivering more robust analyses required for forecasting.

“The rapid progress we’ve seen over the last few months is tangible proof of the potential value of quantum computing in the energy forecasting space,” said Loïc Henriet, Co-CEO of Pasqal. “EDF and GENCI are ahead of the curve in prioritizing the deployment of new-age solutions capable of combatting the limitations of traditional computers and AI. This milestone will be a springboard of continued momentum as Pasqal continues on its journey to bring the power of quantum computing out of the laboratories and into industries.”

The partnership between Pasqal, EDF, and GENCI is part of Pack Quantique (PAQ), a unique and tailored quantum inception program to support the quantum computing sector funded by the Île de France Paris Region. In 2020, PAQ received a first instalment of 1.5 million euros to fund three projects, one of them being the collaboration between Pasqal and EDF to determine how electricity demand algorithms could be implemented on Pasqal’s quantum computing technology. Pasqal has been collaborating with EDF since 2018, specifically its R&D department, to bring fast solutions to hard optimization problems. GENCI, the French High Performance Computing (HPC) agency and the first Pasqal customer, with Ruby, a 100-qubit quantum system installed and operated by CEA at TGCC, is a main enabler of PAQ, and a key European player in the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking project.

“Our collaboration with Pasqal has been all about exploring new possibilities, and we’ve reached a new frontier of electricity management optimization with Quantum Computers,” said Joseph Mikael, Head of Quantum Computing at EDF. “At EDF, we are committed to harnessing the power of quantum computing to accompany the energy transition, and thanks to Pasqal we continue to make progress in this direction.”

“This kind of innovation, demonstrated concretely on a physical system by Pasqal and EDF, is why we invest in projects like PAQ, which ultimately enables the entire ecosystem,” said Stephane Requena, CTO from GENCI. “Our continued work with Pasqal is fueled by the understanding that quantum computing can unlock results unachievable by classical computing, and this in turn creates better living conditions for the average energy consumer.”

The scientific teams of EDF and Pasqal have recently published a joint paper to illustrate the use case, and you can read it here: https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.16656.

To learn more about how quantum computing is poised as the solution for today’s most pressing computing challenges, visit www.pasqal.com, and follow the company on LinkedIn.

About Pasqal

Pasqal is a leading Quantum Computing company that builds quantum processors from ordered neutral atoms in 2D and 3D arrays to bring a practical quantum advantage to its customers and address real-world problems. Pasqal was founded in 2019, out of the Institut d’Optique, by Georges-Olivier Reymond, Christophe Jurczak, Professor Dr. Alain Aspect – Nobel Prize Laureate Physics, 2022, Dr. Antoine Browaeys and Dr. Thierry Lahaye. Pasqal has secured more than €140 million in financing to date. To learn more about us, visit www.pasqal.com.

About GENCI

Created by the French public authorities in 2007, GENCI (Grand Équipement National de Calcul Intensif) is a major research infrastructure. This public operator aims to democratise the use of digital simulation through high performance computing associated with the use of artificial intelligence, and quantum computing to support French scientific and industrial competitiveness.

GENCI is in charge of three missions:

• To implement the national strategy for the provision of high-performance computing resources, storage, massive data processing associated with Artificial Intelligence technologies and quantum computing, for the benefit of French scientific research, in conjunction with the 3 national computing centres (CEA/TGCC, CNRS/IDRIS, France Universités/CINES).
• Supporting the creation of an integrated ecosystem on a national and European level
• Promoting digital simulation and supercomputing to academic research and industry

GENCI is a civil company 49% owned by the State represented by the Ministry in charge of Higher Education and Research, 20% by the CEA, 20% by the CNRS, 10% by the Universities represented by France Universités and 1% by Inria.

Regarding the national quantum strategy GENCI is partner together with CEA and Inria of HQI, the French HPC hybrid Quantum Initiative.

Follow GENCI on LinkedIn, and visit their website https://www.genci.fr/

About EDF

The EDF Group is a key player in the energy transition, as an integrated energy operator engaged in all aspects of the energy business: power generation, distribution, trading, energy sales and energy services. The Group is a world leader in low-carbon energy, with a low carbon output of 434TWhants ¹, a diverse generation mix based mainly on nuclear and renewable energy (including hydropower). It is also investing in new technologies to support the energy transition. EDF’s raison d’être is to build a net zero energy future with electricity and innovative solutions and services, to help save the planet and drive well-being and economic development. The Group supplies energy and services to approximately 40.9 million customers ²  and generated consolidated sales of €139.7 billion in 2023.

(1) See EDF’s 2023 URD sections 1.2.3, 1.3.2 and 3.1

(2) Customers are counted per delivery site. A customer may have two delivery points.