A UK-based quantum software company called Phasecraft will lead a project modelling new perovskite-silicon materials for solar photovoltaics. The project, in collaboration with Oxford PV and scientists at University College London (UCL), is aimed to support the development of quantum computing to simulate “currently intractable problems” in PV materials modelling, according to a recent statement.
Not many details were given regarding the new project, which received an award from UK Research and Innovation’s Commercializing Quantum Technologies Challenge. It was, however, said that it will set out to develop a modelling capability that is tailored to the real-world needs of the PV industry.
“Phasecraft has already proven that quantum computers have the potential to revolutionize materials modelling, even before fully scalable, fault-tolerant quantum computers become available,” says Toby Cubitt, Phasecraft director and co-founder and faculty member of UCL’s Quantum Science and Technology Institute. “We know that photovoltaics has a crucial role to play in the transition to green energy and we are hugely excited to be the ones making quantum computing part of the green revolution.”
In the project, Phasecraft will draw on work ongoing under a 2020 UKRI award to apply quantum computing to modelling the design of battery materials.
“The results we have obtained for battery materials are hugely encouraging and show how our work can really make the difference in critically important areas,” Cubitt adds.
