Work is underway to build a quantum computer in Abu Dhabi, with the first computer chips expected to be ready for production by the summer of 2021.

Technology Innovation Institute (TII), announced that its Quantum Research center (QRC) team will construct the quantum computer in the UAE capital in collaboration with Barcelona-based Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech researchers.

“We are at the cusp of a new era with the advent of quantum computing,” said Faisal Al Bannai, secretary general of Abu Dhabi’s newly established Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC), of which TII is a subdivision.

“We are proud to embark on building one of these wonderful machines which will help us in various fields, from discovering new medicines to making new materials to designing better batteries to various Artificial Intelligence applications.”

A quantum computer uses quantum mechanics to generate and manipulate subatomic particles like electrons or photons to perform complex calculations that traditional supercomputers would take much longer to solve.

“The first step in the process is to build a laboratory, equip it and complete installation of the cleanroom equipment, all of which is on track,” TII chief researcher José Ignacio Latorre said.

“Once done, the first qubits will be prepared, characterized and benchmarked. We expect the first simple quantum chips ‘Made in Abu Dhabi’ should come by the end of the summer,” he said.