Lethbridge can now call itself the home to Canada’s first Quantum Super Hub.
It is located at the Tecconnect Innovation facility in the north end of the city and is a partnership between Economic Development Lethbridge and SuperQ Quantum.
One could think of it as a ‘supercomputer’.
Users can book a timeslot to visit Tecconnect to help them solve complex issues.
For example, a business owner responsible for operating and organizing a large fleet of transport vehicles who may be struggling to schedule routes could use the system to import complex, mass amounts of data and the technology will simplify the information, easing stress and helping with time management.
“The quantum computing, or supercomputing, happens in hardware that is not here, but this is an access terminal to those systems, and we are spinning up super hubs at targeted locations to provide access for strategic users, to evangelize the use of quantum and supercomputing in targeted sectors and targeted areas,” says Dr. Muhammad Khan, founder and CEO of SuperQ Quantum.
He adds that the system helps a user find the best and most efficient way for them to solve a complex problem. The system can give them different options, and they can choose the path that works best for their end goal.
“Business owners in the region [can] seek out the opportunity to use the hub and get some additional training and guidance around how they’re able to propose the problems that are really big imperatives for their business to solve,” says Eyren Uggenti, head of professional services for SuperQ Quantum.
Uggenti says SuperQ will host training sessions for the hub, both in-person and online.
“It’s not just a one-note aspect. Business owners are going to be able to come and consume the access [point] but also be able to find opportunities to grow the way they are going to wield the technology,” he adds.
Uggenti says having this technology in Lethbridge will be beneficial for students and graduates at Lethbridge Polytechynic and the University of Lethbridge.
“We’re going to be hiring quantum engineers. There’s going to be students coming from the U of L and from Lethbridge Polytechnic that will have the opportunity to immerse a little further in these technologies,” he remarks.
“There’s new initiatives propping up as we move forward, so even the access for researchers is just an exciting proposition with the hub being open now.”
EXPANSION AND WIDE ACCESS
Khan adds SuperQ’s plan is to open about 20 other hubs around the world over the next six to eight months. “Several of them will be in Canada but the goal is to expand in North America as well as Asia,” he states.
“There’s going to be web-based availability of this tool as well, because we really want to make the ChatGPT of quantum computing and supercomputing and you cannot create that until you put it in the hands of retail consumers – not just businesses but individuals who could be using it in a research capacity or just because they want to solve a problem [that] they are encountering in their workplace or in their education.”
Khan notes one of the reasons why they decided to set this up in Lethbridge first was his own personal and professional connection to the community. He says his entrepreneurial journey started at Tecconnect, and he is a former professor at the U of L.
“Lethbridge has always been close to my heart, so this is kind of a homecoming,” he says.
Khan cites the major supply chains that run through the southern Alberta corridor were another factor in the decision, plus Lethbridge boasting two post-secondary institutions.
GREAT BENEFIT TO THE COMMUNITY
Renae Barlow, vice president of entrepreneurship and innovation for EDL, says this is a huge move for the community.
“As Tecconnect, we’ve been working in emerging technologies for over 10 years now and as [they have] evolved, so have we in bringing this kind of technology to southern Alberta,” she says. “Having a quantum hub here is amazing for our industry, our growth and understanding [of] the kind of businesses that we have here and how we can be solving some really complex, wicked problems that we have not been able to solve in the past.”
She adds this puts Lethbridge ahead of the curve in the world of innovation.
“I think the industries that we have here are producing massive amounts of data,” Barlow notes, citing precision agriculture, manufacturing and logistics sectors as examples.
She says companies and outlets in these industries boast massive amounts of data, which often encounter supply chain issues.
“We know with tariffs – how else do you calculate all the impacts that the tariffs might be having on all parts of your operation? Now, you [can] push all that data into one central place and maybe come up with some solutions you’ve never even thought of [and] pose the problem in ways that you’ve not been able to pose problems before and see some results,” Barlow remarks.
She adds that this provides a better understanding and grasp of data.
“We can understand how we might have to pivot, how we can be growing, how we can be changing markets if we need to because now, we’re able to solve these problems or these complex ways forward in today’s economy,” Barlow says.
She invites everyone in the community to come check out the hub to learn about quantum and supercomputing. More is available at the Choose Lethbridge website.
