Climate change is one of the most profound challenges that society faces today, with an estimated economic cost of hundreds of billion dollars per annum (World Economic Forum, The Cost of Inaction Report, 2024). New technological solutions are needed to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 (International Energy Agency, Net Zero by 2050, 2021). The Queensland Quantum Decarbonisation Alliance (QDA) brings together twenty-seven partners across academia and industry to apply quantum technologies to this challenge.
The QDA is hosted by QUBIC, with a Hub including the University of Queensland, Griffith University, PsiQuantum, and CSIRO. The Alliance partners span academia, decarbonisation, quantum technologies, and carbon-intensive industry, bringing together the key stakeholders needed to both identify use cases for quantum technologies in decarbonisation and apply quantum technologies to them.
The QDA will drive innovation in decarbonisation applications via both quantum computing and quantum sensing.
Many problems in decarbonisation, such as the design of battery materials and improved catalysis require computational power that far exceeds what is available with today’s supercomputers. Quantum computing promises a new approach to overcome this bottleneck.
Quantum sensors allow exquisitely precise measurements of magnetic fields, gravitational forces, and other stimuli. They promise new methods to explore for critical minerals, survey aquifers, monitor underground carbon stores, among other decarbonisation-related applications.
Programs of Research
The Research Program of the Queensland Quantum Decarbonisation Alliance is centred around three Research Themes:
- Green Hydrogen & Agriculture
- Electricity & Batteries
- Resources & Carbon Sequestration.
Each research theme includes multiple research projects, developing fault-tolerant quantum computing algorithms and quantum sensing technologies for decarbonisation applications in their topic area. Quantum sensing technologies will be applied into applications in the short to medium term. Quantum algorithms will initially be validated on classical computers and small-scale quantum computers. They will be rolled out into applications over time as utility-scale quantum computers become available.
QDA Partners
- The University of Queensland
- Griffith University
- PsiQuantum
- CSIRO
- The Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Quantum Biotechnology (QDA Headquarters)
- The Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communications Technology
- The ARC Centre of Excellence for Green Electrochemical Transformation of Carbon Dioxide
- The Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
- The Net Zero Emissions Agriculture Cooperative Research Centre
- Central Queensland University
- The Australian National University
- Orica
- Mining3 (with industry members: BHP, Caterpillar, South32, Komatsu and Dyno Nobel)
- Energy Queensland
- Siemens
- Aurizon
- Advanced Navigation
- Infleqtion
- Nomad Atomics
- Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI)
- Queensland Decarbonisation
- Queensland Energy Storage Technology Hub (headquartered at Queensland University of Technology)
- Quantum Australia
- The Australian Quantum Software Network
- The Australian National Fabrication Facility
- Queensland Defence Science Alliance (QDSA)
- UniQuest
- The Australian Research Council Training Centre in Predictive Breeding for Agricultural Futures
- The University of Queensland Precision Technologies Translation Hub
Join us!
The QDA is seeking experts in quantum algorithms, quantum chemistry and material science, and quantum sensing, with a keen interest in decarbonisation applications.
- Director (full professor, continuing)
- Alliance Manager
- 6 Senior Lecturers (3 continuing, 2 provisionally continuing)
Contact: Prof. Warwick Bowen on w.bowen@uq.edu.au