What the DOE’s Quantum Computing Competition Could Mean for Fusion and Battery Materials - POWER Magazine

The Department of Energy (DOE) on Sept. 17 announced the Quantum Genesis Q Competition, a $215 million initiative to fund private-sector teams racing to build the world’s first fault-tolerant, scientifically relevant quantum computer. Structured as a milestone-based competition rather than a conventional grant, it will pay out fixed awards of up to $1.5 million per team for early technical milestones, then split a $100 million pool—plus two $50 million bonus pools—among teams that can demonstrate machines with 100, 150, and 200 logical qubits, respectively. Applications, open to any private-sector team, are due Oct. 19. Under Secretary for Science Dr. Darío Gil framed the effort in sweeping terms on a press call previewing the announcement. He likened the effort to earlier generations of major scientific instruments, such as the first particle accelerators or incredibly capable telescopes. “It’s a scientific instrument of the first kind, one that deals with one of the most fundamental building blocks of nature, which is quantum mechanics,” Gil said. That framing—quantum computing as basic-science infrastructure, not power infrastructure—is accurate, and most of what the DOE is funding has little direct bearing on how utilities and power plant operators run their business today. But a companion report, also released today, from the Office of Science Advisory Committee’s (SCAC’s) Quantum Subcommittee, lays out a roadmap of seven “grand scientific challenges” the eventual technology is meant to tackle. Two of them sit squarely in the power sector’s own long-term problem set: fusion energy materials, and next-generation batteries and superconductors. Fusion’s Materials Bottleneck The SCAC roadmap treats fusion as one of its seven grand challenges, with milestones running from now through the 2030s. Near-term goals for 2026 and 2027 call for quantum calculations of tritium binding, plasma-response models, and material transport properties—foundational chemistry problems that today strain classical supercomputers. By 2028, the committee wants a validated prediction of “key quantities limiting fusion design.” The payoff, on the report’s 2030-and-beyond horizon, is more ambitious still: simulating integrated tritium production and recovery, plasma-facing materials, and the extreme conditions inside a reactor or target—work the report says could translate into more reliable fusion systems and a faster path to commercial fusion energy. This isn’t purely aspirational. The report’s bibliography cites a June 2026 preprint from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Cleveland Clinic, and IBM describing what the authors call the first known quantum computation of fusion blanket molten salts—an early, real demonstration that the approach can touch the materials fusion developers actually need to characterize. Batteries and Superconductors, Designed Before They’re Built A second grand challenge targets “next-generation materials and superconductors.” The near-term milestones are more modest—simulating simple materials models against known experimental results in 2026, extending to more complex correlated-materials models in 2027, and producing a validated prediction for a correlated material by 2028. But the long-term goal is the one that matters for the grid: the report envisions quantum computers eventually predicting and designing superconductors and energy-storage materials before fabrication—compressing a materials-discovery process that today runs through years of trial-and-error synthesis and testing. A Long Runway, Not a Near-Term Deliverable It’s worth being direct about timing. Gil was unusually candid on the press call about the odds of hitting even the base 2028 hardware milestone—a machine with roughly 100 logical qubits capable of hundreds of millions of fault-tolerant operations. “I think maybe there’s a 50% probability that it can be realized” on that schedule, he said. “What about a year later? I’ll probably increase the odds to 75%. And what about two years later? I will give it in the high 90s.” That estimate applies to the hardware alone. The fusion and materials payoffs the SCAC report describes sit explicitly on its 2030-and-beyond horizon, a full phase past the Q Competition’s own milestones. The DOE has also been careful not to let the competition predetermine what a future national quantum user facility looks like: officials said on the call that whichever hardware modality wins the current race won’t automatically be selected for the follow-on facility, and that they expect the technology—like high-performance computing before it—to cycle through multiple architectures over decades. When asked whether the Q Competition amounted to an audition for the eventual user facility, Gil pushed back, casting it instead as the start of an effort he expects to unfold over decades. “We see this more as the opening salvo of that journey,” he said—not the end. For an industry watching fusion timelines and battery chemistry roadmaps for the next real breakthrough, that’s the honest way to read this announcement: a long-horizon federal bet whose materials-science payoff, if it arrives, is still the better part of a decade out. —Aaron Larson is POWER’s executive editor. Tagged in: department of energy DOE Energy storage fusion energy Office of Science quantum computing Superconductors Sept. 28—30, 2026 Washington, D.C.

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View Conference Program September 30, 2026 – 11:00 am-11:45 am Inside the Issues: How Industry Associations Are Helping Members Navigate a Changing Energy Landscape Few moments have placed more pressure on the U.S. power sector than the one we’re in now—surging load growth, an evolving generation mix, mounting reliability concerns, rising costs, and a regulatory environment in flux. But those pressures look very different depending on where you sit on the grid.In this session, executives from several of the industry’s most influential associations share what’s at the top of their members’ agendas, the challenges keeping their members up at night, and the work their organizations are doing to help meet those challenges head-on.Attendees will leave with a clearer picture of how different segments of the power sector are approaching today’s defining issues, and where their priorities align, diverge, and intersect. Speaking– Mark W. Menezes (United States Energy Association (USEA), President & Chief Executive Officer) Tom Falcone (Large Public Power Council (LPPC), President) Jim Matheson (National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), CEO) Rich Powell (Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA), CEO) September 30, 2026 – 8:00 am-8:45 am Industry Outlook: Power Company Executives on Challenges, Trends, and the Path Forward This executive panel brings together leaders from across the power sector for an in-depth discussion of the issues shaping the industry today. The discussion may explore current trends in generation, transmission, and distribution, along with the regulatory environment, supply chain pressures, demand growth, and workforce considerations influencing strategic decisions. The session will offer attendees a direct view into how utilities are adapting their planning, operations, and investment priorities to meet a rapidly evolving landscape. Speaking– Darrell Proctor (POWER magazine, Senior Editor) Ed Gray (PSE&G, Vice President - Asset Management and Planning) Valencia McClure (Exelon, SVP Governmental, Regulatory & External Affairs) Brandon Martin (Dominion Energy, Inc., Director of Generation Development - Energy Storage, Reliability and Resiliency) September 29, 2026 – 4:00 pm-4:45 pm Women in Power: Leading Change from the Inside Women are driving innovation and transformation across the power sector. This panel highlights how diverse leadership strengthens organizational resilience, fosters inclusive practices, and fuels progress in a rapidly evolving industry. Hear from trailblazers as they share strategies for recruiting women into energy roles, advancing careers, and breaking barriers. Whether you're new to the field or a seasoned professional, this session offers insights to empower your journey and build a more inclusive energy future. Speaking– Wayshalee Patel B.S.ChE, MBA, P.E. (Sargent & Lundy, VP, Environmental Technologies, Licensing and Permitting) Lou Martinez Sancho Ph.D., MBB (Westinghouse Electric Company LLC, Chief Technology Officer) Roberta Zwier (LS Power, Vice President, Site Development & Permitting) Anne Moon (Sargent & Lundy, Vice President Grid) Ann Jones (Dominion Energy, Inc., Vice President Dominion Energy Virginia Operations Support) Grace Vanderhei (Constellation, Nuclear Engineer) September 29, 2026 – 4:00 pm-4:45 pm State Policy + Regulatory Opportunities for Speed to Power Across the country, state policymakers and regulators are taking proactive steps to meet the challenge of load growth. What are the policies, regulatory strategies, and state programs that have worked for responding to growth while keeping costs low for ratepayers? Speaking– Nick Montoni Ph.D. (NC Clean Energy Technology Center, Senior Program Director - Policy and Markets) Brian Watts (Pew Charitable Trusts, Data and Policy Analyst) Caitlin Flanagan (NC Clean Energy Technology Center, Policy Analyst) Arjun Krishnaswami (Federation of American Scientists, Sr. Advisor, Clean Energy) September 29, 2026 – 2:30 pm-3:15 pm Policy Whiplash and Power Demand: Community Engagement and Environmental Regulation in the Energy Sector The U.S power sector is going through profound change. The new administration slowed the pace of regulatory initiatives, courts placed key rules on hold, and multiple environmental standards affecting generation and transmission entered periods of reconsideration. At the same time, demand pressures from data centers, electrification, and broader economic growth continued to mount, leaving utilities and power producers facing critical choices about where to invest in new generation, how quickly to retire aging assets, and how to plan for compliance in a policy environment defined by uncertainty.Against this backdrop, the session will provide a comprehensive update on the environmental regulations shaping the industry and examine how ongoing litigation could alter the trajectory of rulemaking and permitting timelines into 2026 and beyond. It will also challenge the traditional view of permitting as a purely technical and regulatory exercise governed by statutes, studies, and agency schedules. In practice, permitting is deeply political: community sentiment, local leadership dynamics and organized advocacy cam all determine whether a project advances smoothly or becomes mired in controversy. Building on this dual regulatory and political context, attendees will learn practical approaches for treating permitting as both a compliance requirement and a political pathway. Speaking– Wayshalee Patel B.S.ChE, MBA, P.E. (Sargent & Lundy, VP, Environmental Technologies, Licensing and Permitting) Nick Montoni Ph.D. (NC Clean Energy Technology Center, Senior Program Director - Policy and Markets) Curtis Wilkerson (Orion Strategies, CEO) Cleo Carter (National Governors Association, Policy Analyst) Roberta Zwier (LS Power, Vice President, Site Development & Permitting) September 29, 2026 – 2:30 pm-3:15 pm Leveraging AI Across the Utility Lifecycle, sponsored by Siemens Energy This panel will focus on AI’s role and application across the utility lifecycle. From generation, control systems, and emission monitoring, AI is playing an ever increasingly important role on security and predictive maintenance. Speaking– Ed Myers (Long Ridge Energy, Vice President - Development) Alan Karr (Siemens Energy, Inc., Head of Digitalization, CD North America) James Robinson (Dynamic Energy Systems, DES Global, LLC, Principal Project Engineer)