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Qarakal Quantum, Quantum Elements win $2.4M BIRD grant for catalyst simulation
The Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation selected Quantum Elements and Qarakal Quantum for a $2.4 million project, one of seven approved by the foundation. The companies will develop a quantum simulation platform for chemical reactions on material surfaces. The work combines Qarakal's modular superconducting quantum hardware with Quantum Elements' digital-twin software, error suppression, error correction and decoders. The companies say they aim to produce a validated prototype, benchmark chemistry models and quantum algorithms, with demonstrations and API outputs intended for chemists and materials engineers.
Why it mattersSurface catalyst reactions are currently studied with high-performance computing and density functional theory, which the companies say can require significant approximation for strongly correlated systems. The project will investigate how quantum computing could complement these existing tools, not replace them.