Achieving Utility-Scale Applications through Full Stack Co-Design of Fault Tolerant Quantum Computers

Abstract

Quantum computing promises revolutionary advances in modeling materials and molecules. However, the up-to-date runtime estimates for utility-scale applications on certain quantum hardware systems are in the order of years rendering quantum computations impractical. Our work incorporates state-of-the-art innovations in all key aspects of the fault-tolerant quantum computing (FTQC) stack to show how quantum computers could realistically and practically tackle CO$_2$ utilization for green energy production. We bring down the quantum computation runtime from 22 years to just 1 day, achieving a significant 7.9e03 reduction from previous state-of-the-art work. This reduction renders the quantum computation feasible, challenges state-of-the-art classical methods and results to a predicted run-time quantum advantage. We provide a rigorous analysis of how different innovations across the stack combine to provide such reductions. Our work provides strong evidence that all layers of FTQC are crucial in the quest for quantum advantage. Our analysis can be applied to related problems on FTQC and for any type of quantum architecture. Our methodology connects quantum algorithms to applications of positive real-world impact and leads to compelling evidence of achievable quantum advantage.