Linde Engineering will deliver a large cryogenic plant to PsiQuantum in Australia
Linde Engineering has signed an agreement with PsiQuantum to deliver a cryogenic cooling plant for the world’s first utility-scale quantum computer in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
The plant will be one of the largest cryogenic cooling facilities ever constructed to operate a quantum computer. It will cool the cryogenic cabinets housing PsiQuantum’s new Omega chipset and other systems. Quantum computing is anticipated to propel advancements in healthcare, energy, material design, and encryption, while the project in Brisbane advances Australia’s quantum ecosystem across academia, commercial partnerships, and supply chains.
The large-scale cryogenic cooling infrastructure will achieve the required 4 Kelvin range (-269 °C, -452 °F). Linde Engineering is among the very few companies worldwide with the necessary expertise, having installed over 500 cryogenic plants. These plants serve high-tech industries such as semiconductors and magnetic resonance imaging and scientific applications like particle accelerators and fusion research.
“We are proud to help PsiQuantum realise their ambitious vision for quantum computing. This collaboration demonstrates how combined expertise can drive advancements in technology and innovation,” says John van der Velden, Senior Vice President Global Sales & Technology, Linde Engineering. “This technology will help design solutions to address some of the most pressing challenges faced by society today.”
“Photons don’t feel to heat the way matter-based qubits do. Our systems can run 100 times warmer – and we appreciate collaborating with a world-class firm like Linde Engineering to deliver industrial-scale systems with proven technology,” said Jeremy O’Brien, CEO and co-founder of PsiQuantum. “This is a fundamental scaling advantage and a key reason we are able to move rapidly toward utility-scale quantum computing.”
The cryogenic plant will cool tens of thousands of PsiQuantum’s new Omega photonic chips, which are housed in cabinets that will be networked together using standard optical fibre. Quantum computers utilise special bits called qubits, which, unlike classical bits, can exist in a coherent superposition of multiple states at the same time. This allows for multiple simultaneous computations, enabling them to solve problems much faster than classical computers. Qubits are sensitive to interactions with their environment, such as heat or electromagnetic radiation. They cannot operate reliably without adequate cooling, which keeps qubits in a state that preserves their quantum mechanical properties.