Quantum Economic Development Consortium showcases technology innovations to increase awareness and communication on Capitol Hill

Internal summary

• The Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C) held its first Quantum Technology Showcase on Capitol Hill.
• Twenty-two QED-C member companies demonstrated technologies that are being implemented in products and systems today.
• The showcase followed the US National Science Foundation’s Quantum Research Showcase, featuring NSF-funded university researchers from across the country.
• Image: Senator Marsha Blackburn addresses attendees of the QED-C Quantum Technology Showcase in the Kennedy Caucus Room of the Russell Senate Office Building.

PRESS RELEASE – The Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C), the world’s leading association of quantum technology pioneers, held its first Quantum Technology Showcase on Capitol Hill yesterday. Twenty-two QED-C member companies demonstrated technologies that are being implemented in products and systems today.
The showcase followed the US National Science Foundation’s Quantum Research Showcase, featuring NSF-funded university researchers from across the country. The two events highlighted the importance of the entire innovation ecosystem for advancing quantum – from basic academic research to cutting-edge private sector R&D.

Hosted by the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the summit drew attendees from legislative offices, federal agencies, and industry stakeholders for an opportunity to see live demonstrations of technologies that are already making a positive impact on U.S. competitiveness. in the global quantum world. field.

“Quantum technologies are part of a growing industry critical to the U.S. economy and national security,” said Celia Merzbacher, executive director of QED-C, “However, the quantum industry is still a nascent industry and there have been few opportunities for policymakers to experience these technologies firsthand and meet the innovators in person. This was our way of demonstrating that the quantum industry is creating products, businesses and jobs that will power the quantum future.”

As Congress seeks to reauthorize the National Quantum Initiative (NQI), the Quantum Technology Showcase was an opportunity to highlight how results from federally funded research make their way into practical applications. Senator Marsha Blackburn, who has introduced several bipartisan bills to promote quantum development, including the recent Defense Quantum Acceleration Act of 2024made comments in support of US quantum investment.

“We are trying to push the reauthorization of the National Quantum Initiative. We think this is important to us,” said Senator Blackburn, referring to China’s stated desire to be the global leader. “Whether you are talking about the commercial sector, the defense sector or the healthcare sector, quantum technology will be a game changer.”

US quantum industry innovators providing demonstrations included Amphenol, AOSense, Bluefors, D-Wave, Google Quantum AI, IBM, Infleqtion, Keysight Technologies, Maybell Quantum Industries, NVIDIA, Octave Photonics, qBraid, Q-CTRL, Qrypt, Quantinuum , Qubitekk, Qunnect, Resilient Entanglement, RTX BBN, Sivananthan and Vescent Labs.

QED-C was established through the 2018 NQI Act and is administered by SRI, a non-profit research institute. Today, the consortium is a public-private partnership supported by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and other government agencies, along with more than 240 members, including companies ranging from startups to large technology companies, universities and national laboratories.