Chattanooga's new quantum computer is online. EPB says businesses can use it next month - WTVC

Chattanooga's new quantum computer is online. EPB says businesses can use it next monthby WTVCFri, September 18, 2026 at 12:12 PMImage via EPB.Comment on this story0CommentShare storySharetopics: Quantum computingIonQEPBChattanoogaQuantum CenterElectric gridUTCVanderbiltCHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A new quantum computer is now up and running in Chattanooga, and EPB says businesses will soon be able to pay to use it.EPB announced Friday that it has launched an IonQ Forte Enterprise quantum computer at its Quantum Center.The utility says combining that machine with its existing quantum network makes the Chattanooga facility the first in the country to offer commercial quantum computing and quantum networking in the same place.EPB plans to open the computer to commercial customers in early October, with UTC lined up as its first customer. The utility says it's also working with Vanderbilt University on another project.Before then, researchers working for EPB will get the first crack at it.Eight graduate researchers brought to Chattanooga through a $4 million federal grant are developing quantum algorithms that EPB hopes could help it operate its electric grid more efficiently and reduce costs.That's research, though, not a promise of immediate savings on customers' electric bills.EPB says the researchers will use the new computer to test whether those algorithms can further optimize parts of its automated grid.So what exactly is EPB trying to build?Unlike the computers most of us use every day, quantum computers use principles of quantum physics to tackle certain kinds of calculations in fundamentally different ways.The technology remains an emerging field, and many of its hoped-for commercial applications are still being developed.EPB is betting that giving businesses and researchers access to both quantum computing and networking infrastructure in Chattanooga will help turn some of those ideas into practical uses.That effort is already drawing money and researchers to the city.IonQ has announced a $15 million investment for a Tennessee Quantum Communications Research Center in Chattanooga, with plans for about two dozen jobs.UTC plans to expand its quantum programs by 135 to 240 faculty, staff and students, while Vanderbilt's planned Chattanooga quantum campus is expected to include about 250 researchers, faculty and staff.Those numbers are projections from the institutions involved.EPB and its partners are also experimenting with combining quantum computing with more familiar technology.EPB says it has installed a traditional supercomputer at the Quantum Center as part of a project involving IonQ, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and NVIDIA.Researchers plan to use the two types of computing together to study portions of EPB's electric grid and other potential energy applications.Local leaders are also making some large economic predictions about the investment.Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly says EPB's quantum initiatives could generate up to $1.1 billion in economic gains for Chattanooga over the next decade.That figure is a projection, not money already generated by the project.The push extends into local schools.EPB and Hamilton County Schools plan to establish an Energy and Quantum Industries Academy at the Franklin-Roberts Future Ready Center beginning in 2028, with plans to serve about 400 high school students each year.Hamilton County Schools has also been selected to pilot a statewide K-12 program introducing students to quantum technology and potential careers in the field.For now, the newest piece of that effort is physically here and operating.EPB says UTC will begin using the quantum computer when commercial access starts in early October.Depend on us to keep you posted.TrendingLife Care founder’s wife indicted in Bradley County elder neglect caseA Cleveland woman and the wife of the founder ofLife Care Centers of America has been indicted on charges related to neglect on an elderly adult, according to Indictment claims Tennessee billionaire is victim in wife's elder neglect caseThis is not the first time concerns about Forrest Preston's welfare have surfaced publicly.Tennessee offers free replacement licenses after TSA scanning issues reportedSome Tennessee travelers have run into an unexpected snag at airport security: their driver’s licenses are not being recognized when scanned by the TransportatiChrista Pike's attorney: Woman facing execution is 'not at all' who she was at 18Christa Pike was 18 when she committed the murder that put her on Tennessee's death row.She's 50 now.And with Pike scheduled to die Sept. 30, an attorney who haTwo relatives indicted in drowning death of 7-year-old in Bradley CountyTwo relatives of a 7-year-old child who drowned in July have been indicted and arrested after a Bradley County Sheriff’s Office investigation.68-year-old Jean MNEWS IN PHOTOS:"Local"3Paramount reportedly eyeing Nashville for possible move4North Carolina water feature linked to teen's fatal brain-eating amoeba infection5'Just cruel': Trump's joke about withholding FEMA funding draws reactions across WNC3Tennessee unemployment rate matches its lowest point of year so far