Chattanooga EPB Launches Nation’s First Commercial Quantum Computing and Networking Hub
Chattanooga EPB marked a major technology milestone Sept. 18 with the official commissioning of its IonQ Forte Enterprise quantum computer, making the EPB Quantum Center the nation’s first commercial hub to offer both quantum computing and quantum networking in one location.
Before a live audience at Chattanooga EPB headquarters, CEO Janet Rehberg led a countdown as the new quantum computer processed its first algorithm. Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly, Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp, former U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, and representatives from U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty were among those attending the event.
The launch builds on the municipal power company’s 2023 introduction of the EPB Quantum Network and creates an environment where businesses, universities, and researchers can develop, test, and deploy quantum technologies using commercially available infrastructure. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Vanderbilt University are among EPB’s partners in the growing quantum ecosystem.
For Chattanooga EPB, however, the technology’s first application will be close to home.
Rehberg introduced the EPB Quantum Computing Fellows, a group of eight graduate researchers recruited from across the country who will be the first to use the new computer. The fellows are developing quantum algorithms aimed at further optimizing EPB’s automated electric grid, with the goal of reducing costs and improving resilience for customers. Their work is supported by a $4 million grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
“Access to a quantum computer is rare and valuable,” Rehberg said. “We’re starting with our own work to directly benefit our customers while also prioritizing the universities that are investing to expand quantum education, workforce development and research right here in Chattanooga.”
The investment is also helping position Chattanooga and the Tennessee Valley as a center for quantum research, commercialization, and workforce development. IonQ is investing $15 million to establish the Tennessee Quantum Communications Research Center in Chattanooga, while UTC is expanding its quantum programs and Vanderbilt is partnering with EPB to establish the Institute for Quantum Innovation and a Chattanooga quantum innovation campus.
Chattanooga EPB is also working with IonQ, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and NVIDIA on a hybrid computing project that combines quantum and high-performance classical computing to explore applications for EPB’s electric grid and increasingly complex energy systems.
The growing quantum ecosystem is expected to bring hundreds of researchers, faculty, staff, and students to the region while creating new opportunities for local students to prepare for careers in emerging technologies. EPB and Hamilton County Schools have announced an Energy and Quantum Industries Academy expected to serve approximately 400 high school students annually beginning in 2028.
The quantum computer will open for commercial use in early October, with UTC slated to become its first customer.