Quantum Computing Should Be on the Roadmap for Forward Thinking Grid Operators

Silicon Quantum Computing (SQC), an Australian-based quantum computing company, and Schneider Electric (SE) are partnering to help grid operators improve their ability to forecast local weather conditions and their impact on their grids. On October 2, the companies announced that their work had advanced to Stage 2 of the Australian Government's Critical Technologies Challenge Program (CTCP). The companies were awarded AU$3.6 million to advance the work.

In Stage 1, the companies demonstrated over a 12-month period that SQC's quantum-enhanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) chip could enhance the accuracy of SE's forecasting models for household electricity consumption and overall demand by 20% compared with previous forecasting models. Stage 2 is the Demonstrator Phase, when participants focus on developing prototypes that are deployed at grid operators, emphasizing commercial viability.

The partnership between SQC and SE illustrates how software vendors are looking to quantum computing firms to augment their capabilities.

Local weather affects the energy produced by an increasing number of households with rooftop solar panels that are looking to supply the grid. Minor changes in energy supply impact the wholesale prices for electricity, which impacts operators and customers alike.

Schneider Electric's EcoStruxure platform collected data from Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, solar inverters, and Electric Vehicle (EV) chargers to produce household energy metrics and insights on local weather conditions. The data are sent to SQC’s dedicated quantum data center in Sydney, which houses Watermelon, an atomic-precision phosphorus-in-silicon Quantum Processing Unit (QPU). Watermelon analyzes the relationships between local weather conditions and the grid. For example, how will a forecast drop in temperature alter the load on the grid 24 hours later? SQC sends the findings to the EcoStruxure platform, which then feeds the data into its algorithms to provide recommendations to a grid operator. Better weather forecasts help grid operators better manage capacity loads and accommodate bi-directional flows such as from EVs and households.

Weather risk calculations are another application for quantum computing. E.ON is collaborating with IBM to create algorithms that speed up the company’s weather risk calculations with the goal being to reassess decisions in real time as weather conditions change.

Early movers are creating Intellectual Property (IP) by incorporating quantum computing into their software applications. While not an arms race currently, vendors will need to have a roadmap outlining how they will harness quantum capabilities to avoid being left behind.

Quantum computing is at an embryonic stage of adoption by grid operators. It is encouraging that government programs such as Australia’s CTCP program and the U.K. Government’s Quantum Catalyst Fund provide encouraging public support, and that E.ON and operators are undertaking quantum initiatives.

The U.K. Government’s Quantum Catalyst Fund supported quantum software firm Phasecraft’s launch of its software platform Mondrian in October 2025. Acting as an intermediary between Phasecraft and the United Kingdom’s National Energy System Operator (NESO), quantum computing was utilized to identify constraints (including power exchange calculations and grid islanding) and where to site wind/solar assets to safely expand grid. Another partnership is E.ON’s with IBM and D-Wave to perform simulations and calculations involving EV charging, including the mix of batteries and generators used to optimize and sometimes curtail energy usage by customers in an area.

Better forecasting means that grid operators can forecast congestion and stabilize the grid, incorporate bi-directional flows to and from customers, and manage Virtual Power Plants (VPPs). The output from the calculations can improve how grid operators allocate Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) across their networks.

As with other innovations, there needs to be a pathway to move quantum projects from interesting pilots into part of day-to-day operations. The use cases must match commercial and operational needs to get buy-in. The pilots should run parallel to current operations to evaluate whether quantum computing delivers marked performance improvements. Software vendors must ensure their applications ingest the high frequency and high volumes of data from quantum computing, and ensure the data are translatable into actionable workflows.

Governments are keen for grid operators to experiment with quantum use cases. But as always with digital projects, clean data are a pre-requisite to feed the algorithms. While governments are encouraging trials, grid operators must establish a digital foundation. Many grid operators are not ready for quantum computing because data are not collected in consistent formats and/or they reside in data silos. But given the multiple pressures on Distribution System Operators (DSOs) and Transmission System Operators (TSOs) (see ABI Research’s What’s on the Mind of TSOs? presentation (PT-4098) and What’s on the Mind of DSOs? presentation (PT-4099), it’s time for them to harness the computational power of quantum computing to solve issues that have proven impossible until now, to improve both day-to-day and longer-term decisions.