IBM Models 9 FLiBe Configurations for Fusion Tritium Recovery on Quantum Computers
Updated
Updated · Boy Genius Report · Aug 13
IBM Models 9 FLiBe Configurations for Fusion Tritium Recovery on Quantum Computers
3 articles · Updated · Boy Genius Report · Aug 13
Summary
IBM, working with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Cleveland Clinic, used quantum hardware to model how fusion plants could produce and recapture tritium in molten salt blankets.
Nine molecular configurations of FLiBe—fluorine, lithium and beryllium—were computed on quantum systems after classical computers handled simpler parts of the simulation.
The models measure how strongly tritium binds to FLiBe, a key factor in whether future reactors can recover enough fuel to keep operating despite tritium's 12-year half-life and scarce supply.
IBM said the work is the first known fusion-material computation on quantum computers, targeting a major obstacle for an industry that still has no commercial fusion plants.
The result fits broader efforts to use quantum computing on hard chemistry problems as the U.S. pursues a roadmap for commercial fusion and IBM pushes toward wider quantum commercialization.