Developing new quantum algorithms could help us model the batteries and chemicals of the future.

It’s a hard pill for some industries to swallow, but our energy and manufacturing status quo is no longer fit for purpose. Our reliance on fossil fuels is driving up carbon emissions, climate change and global warming. Our increasing demand for technology and digital services is depleting some of our rarest resources. Our laboured adoption of renewable energy and sustainable manufacturing is creating economical and societal risks.

There is a solution in sight: quantum computers promise to speed up material modelling in a way that helps us discover and commercialise new materials for batteries, solar panels, chemicals and more. By using quantum mechanics to solve problems that are unsolvable on classic computers, the technology will allow researchers to identify potential materials and rule out others faster than ever before. Yet there’s a fly in the ointment – quantum computers are a long way...