The Queensland and federal governments have teamed up to offer a nearly $1 billion incentive to quantum computing company PsiQuantum.
Marketing themselves as “on a mission to build the world’s first commercially useful quantum computer,” PsiQuantum will establish its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Brisbane in exchange for $940 million in concessional loans, drawn equally from the federal and Queensland governments.
The American firm’s co-founders include Australian-born Jeremy O’Brien and Terry Rudolph. Their approach to quantum computing was developed by O’Brien at the University of Queensland.
Quantum computers are considered the next major development in computing, delivering tremendous data processing power, well beyond the capabilities of today’s super-computers. When mature, it is predicted, the technology will be able to solve problems millions of times faster than the world’s faster supercomputers.
That processing power can help solve problems conventional computers can’t and can help drive advances in areas like new medicines, AI and the net-zero transition.
Chief scientist Cathy Foley said quantum computing is a transformational and strategically important technology.
“Australia is perfectly placed to achieve a globally significant quantum industry, but we can’t take a business-as-usual approach to realising this potential,” she said.
We must take advantage of the quantum technology wave to reach the industry scale needed by attracting quantum companies to set up manufacturing here.
“This investment shows that Australia is serious about its quantum industry development by ensuring we are at the front of the pack in the global race to build the first useful quantum computer.”
This marks the first major project of the government’s future Made in Australia plan. This seeks to sure up Australia’s supply chains in the face of an increasingly uncertain global political economy.
This means ensuring technologies of strategic importance are manufactured in Australia. Increasingly, that is going to mean advanced research and manufacturing of emerging technologies is taking place in Australia.
While there is broad agreement quantum technology will eventually be of strategic importance, concerns have been raised about the government’s decision to back a foreign-owned company, and a lack of transparency.
In a speech at the Lowy Institute on Wednesday, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said there were risks in the investment, but the government needed to swing big to secure a place for Australia in the global economy in the future.
“This is a chance that won’t pass us by, as we work to build a quantum computer in my home state of Queensland and initiate the next wave of innovation in our economy,” he said.
“We’re one of the best-positioned countries in the world when it comes to people reorganising and rethinking their supply chains because we are reliable. We are stable. We have a great resources base and a great human capital base.
“We have recognised that sometimes we need to build in an exit strategies. I know the appointment I made to the the head of the PC, her comments have attracted a lot of attention, but I agree with some of the things Danielle Wood was saying about making sure we’ve got those off-ramps, and value for money.
“What you’ll see in the budget package in 13 days’ time is different mechanisms have got different ways we are imposing that value for money.”
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