IQM has signed an agreement with Italian supercomputing center CINECA to integrate one of the former’s Radiance quantum computers with the Leonardo supercomputer.

The 54-qubit system is expected to be delivered and installed in Q4 2025 and will be the first on-premise quantum computer at CINECA in Bologna, Italy.

In a statement, Finland’s IQM said the supercomputing center intends to use the new system for “optimization of quantum applications, quantum cryptography, quantum communication, and artificial intelligence quantum algorithms.”

The Leonardo system is partly funded through the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU). First announced in 2020 and inaugurated in November 2022, the €120 million ($124.5m) system placed ninth on the most recent edition of the Top500 list of the world’s most powerful supercomputers.

In September 2024, the EuroHPC JU announced plans to spend €28 million ($31.26m) upgrading Leonardo to better take on artificial intelligence (AI) workloads.

In addition to Leonardo, CINECA also operates the Marconi cluster – a mixture of Lenovo with an IBM accelerator module – which replaced the predecessor Fermi system in July 2016, as well as an Intel-powered IBM/Lenovo system known as Galileo from 2015. It also operates an Nvidia DGX system and an HPC cloud service.

CINCEA was also selected by the EuroHPC JU in late December to host the incoming IT4LIA AI Factory.

“The arrival of the new IQM Radiance 54 quantum computer represents a groundbreaking development for Cineca, further strengthening our role in managing cutting-edge technological infrastructures,” said Alessandra Poggiani, director general of CINECA. “We are confident that our work in quantum computing can quickly translate into new opportunities, benefiting our consortium members and the entire ecosystem we serve.”

Mikko Välimäki, co-CEO at IQM Quantum Computers, added: “We are thrilled to install one of our most powerful quantum computers at Cineca and contribute to the growth of the quantum ecosystem in Italy. Our 54-qubit quantum computer provides a state-of-the-art platform for researchers and developers to start exploring novel quantum use cases, which cannot be emulated on any classical hardware.”

Founded in Helsinki, Finland, in 2018, IQM brings full-stack quantum computers and applications to HPCs, research institutes, universities, and business enterprises. The company’s Radiance quantum computer is currently available in a 54-qubit version but in March 2024, IQM said a 150-qubit version of Radiance was targeted for Q1 2025.

Earlier this month, IQM announced it had partnered with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland to launch Europe’s first 50-qubit superconducting quantum computer.