By Kennedy Maize
Although still in its infancy, quantum computing has arrived and is making an impact on energy, according to a new report from energy research company Wood Mackenzie.
The report — “The Quantum Disruption of Energy” – says that “Quantum computing has moved from the lab into live energy infrastructure, and the global race for commercial-scale adoption is accelerating,” adding that “power grids, LNG networks, and renewables forecasting systems already deploy quantum technology.”
“The quantum energy future is already taking shape,” said Robert Liew, research director for global integrated research at Wood Mackenzie. “Quantum technologies are becoming increasingly relevant to the energy industry, and companies exploring applications such as grid optimisation and quantum sensing are beginning to demonstrate their commercial potential” he writes. “Over the longer term, these technologies could also unlock significant opportunities in battery storage, solar PV and advanced nuclear.” 
Woodmac’s quantum report grows out of work this Spring by a “Capstone” academic team at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, also titled “The Quantum Disruption of Energy,” with Wood Mackenzie as the client.
Columbia describes the rationale for the project: “Quantum computing represents one of the most consequential emerging technologies of the coming decades, with the potential to fundamentally alter how the energy sector manages grids, discovers new materials, prices financial instruments, and secures critical infrastructure. Global electricity transmission and distribution losses waste an estimated $130 billion annually, while the rapid integration of intermittent renewables has made real-time grid optimization an increasingly intractable computational challenge.”
The Capstone workshop concluded, “As governments worldwide commit billions to quantum research and the private sector races toward commercial viability, understanding which energy applications stand to benefit most and on what timeline has become a strategic imperative for investors, utilities, and policymakers alike.”
The basis of quantum computing is quantum physics, which the federal government’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) says “describes the universe at its smallest and most fundamental scales — think atoms and molecules; light and energy. Things at these scales behave very differently from everyday objects we’re familiar with.”
A key to understanding this is the head-scratching concept of “superposition,” where “atoms can act as though they have two or more distinct amounts of energy at once.” While our understanding of conventional computers involves “bits” of data, which are either positive or negative. In quantum physics, atoms can be both positive and negative at once, known as quantum bits or “qubits. This offers an opportunity for superfast computations.
NIST explains, “Whereas two classical bits can be placed in only one combination of states at a time (such as 1 and 0), two qubits can contain a superposition of four combinations of 0s and 1s simultaneously. Three qubits can contain eight combinations; four qubits, 16 combinations and so on. Each additional qubit doubles the number of combinations: an exponential increase.”
Taking advantage of these characteristics is extraordinarily difficult. Physicists and computer scientists have been working on practical applications for decades. They are getting closer.
In its news release, Woodmac cites some of the progress in applying quantum computing to energy issues: “In 2024, Google’s Willow quantum chip completed a benchmark computation in under five minutes, a task that would have taken the world’s fastest classical supercomputer 10 septillion years. The energy sectors are already applying that advantage. In 2024, China deployed 85 quantum devices at a 220-kV substation to develop autonomous intelligent substations. E.ON uses hybrid quantum-classical computing for grid management and forecasting for renewables.”
The Woodmac report notes that “grid topology optimisation and quantum sensing are the clearest near-term opportunities, with commercial outcomes and an established base of first-mover investors active in these areas. Hybrid computing approaches combining quantum and classical methods are bridging the gap as fully fault-tolerant quantum systems develop.”
Beyond those applications, the study highlights three areas where quantum computing “has truly transformational potential:”
- Battery storage: “Quantum computing can expand the materials search space and dramatically accelerate predictive modelling of molecular behaviour by running simulations in weeks rather than years. The same capability can be applied to R&D in electrolysers, hydrogen, critical minerals, and carbon capture technologies.”
- Solar PV: “quantum computing can accelerate research into the Singlet Fission process, which has the potential to double solar panel power output.”
- Advanced nuclear: “quantum simulation could help resolve the tritium fuel supply challenge, model plasma turbulence with high fidelity, and identify new materials capable of withstanding extreme fusion reactor environments.”
According to Woodmac, “Governments worldwide are moving quickly to establish leadership in quantum. The US is already accelerating quantum computing development and has issued billions in grants to key companies with the government taking minority equity stakes.
“The EU adopted a Quantum Europe Strategy in 2025 and plans to pass a Quantum Act in 2026. The UK has committed US$3.4 billion over ten years, with dedicated funding for energy-grid applications. China’s 15th Five-Year Plan designates quantum computing as its top economic priority industry for 2026–2030 and. Japan has launched a US$340 million hardware and software programme with 2025 as the first year of quantum industrialization.”
The Quad Report, covering energy policy and politics
