Quantum South Chicago Campus
South Chicago’s environment is drastically changing as local, state, and federal authorities come together to make the area a global hub for quantum computing. On the expansive 440-acre site of the old U.S. Steel South Works, the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park (IQMP), a cutting-edge complex, construction has officially begun. The project, which is being led by Related Midwest and CRG, intends to finish the first building phase by 2027, ushering in a new era for the old industrial lakefront.
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The Academic and Administrative Powerhouse
A sophisticated partnership run by a University of Illinois (UI) subsidiary forms the core of the IQMP. The UI board of trustees owns this university-affiliated organization, which is run by a 14-member board of managers led by Wilbur Milhouse III. Longtime UI professor Harley T. Johnson is the park’s first CEO and executive director, and physics professor Brian L. DeMarco is its chief technology officer.
The UI system is making the most of its enormous research potential; half of the state’s quantum professors, comprising more than 65 scientists and 170 graduate students, are housed at Grainger College of Engineering. The Discovery Partners Institute (DPI) in downtown Chicago acts as a “on-ramp” facility where research is currently under progress to fill the void while the South Chicago location is prepared. There have been expenses associated with this shift to a quantum-focused purpose; the DPI facility’s withdrawal from a prior South Loop project cost taxpayers more than $30 million.
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PsiQuantum: The Tenant Anchor
PsiQuantum, the development’s initial and principal tenant, is the key force behind the park’s technical ambition. The firm was founded in 2016 by researchers who left prominent academic positions in the UK. Its goal is to create the first “utility-scale” quantum computer that is fault-tolerant by 2028. PsiQuantum employs single photons, or light particles, on silicon chips that are mass-produced by partner GlobalFoundries, in contrast to many of its rivals.
With significant financial support, including $1 billion from its most recent funding round headed by BlackRock and Baillie Gifford, the firm is now valued at over $7 billion. With $200 million in Illinois tax incentives and more than $33 million in federal contracts from the Department of Defense (DoD), public support is similarly strong. A government advisory board with a wealth of national security experience, including former U.S. deputy secretary of state Stephen Biegun and former undersecretary of defense Ellen Lord, supports PsiQuantum’s leadership, including temporary CEO Victor Peng.
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DARPA’s “Proving Ground”
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is another reason why South Chicago is of significance to the military. To evaluate quantum hardware and algorithms, DARPA is forming the Quantum Proving Ground at the IQMP, a multi-year collaboration. $140 million in federal funding, matched by the state of Illinois, is used to support this effort. Researchers from different firms will be able to test their inventions at the Proving Ground’s common labs and cryogenic facilities. DARPA’s participation highlights the technology’s strategic significance, but it has also raised questions in the community about the site’s military connections and possible uses for it in terms of national security, such reading encrypted data.
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IBM and the International Cohort
Another significant partner is the IT behemoth IBM, which will serve as the foundation for the workforce development center at Quantum Works. In partnership with the University of Chicago, IBM will spearhead the National Quantum Algorithm Center using its “IBM Quantum System Two” modular computer. U. Chicago is actively involved in the park’s growth through the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and its Hyde Park Labs incubator, while not having an official involvement in its main development.
Additionally, a wide range of foreign and specialized companies are represented in the IQMP:
- Infleqtion: A Colorado-based company is building large-scale computers using laser-trapped neutral atoms.
- Pasqal: Another French firm that specializes in neutral-atom processors has invested $65 million in its South Chicago facility.
- Diraq: An Australian start-up called Diraq is developing silicon quantum dot spin qubit-based computers.
- Quantum Machines: An Israeli company that specializes in the control systems that run quantum computers is constructing a significant quantum data center in Tel Aviv.
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Economic Promises and Concern in the Community
The IQMP’s proponents emphasize how it may result in a significant increase in employment. The site will generate “hundreds of jobs,” according to CEO Harley Johnson, including positions for technicians, security, and human resources specialists. By 2030, IBM plans to add 750 jobs to the site, including data analysts and app developers, with 180 of those roles designated for graduates of an apprenticeship program at the City Colleges of Chicago.
Nonetheless, a large number of people in the nearby areas are still cautious. According to local activists, there are worries that the project would result in environmental effects, resident relocation, and a lack of openness. Fiscal watchdogs have expressed concern about the high amounts of public subsidies, such as the $122,000 in tax credits Pasqal receives for each job generated, even if businesses like PsiQuantum have guaranteed positions paying at least 120 percent of the average Cook County wage. In addition to gaining a “quantum advantage” in computing, the IQMP’s success will depend on its ability to fulfill its commitments to the residents of South Chicago.
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