Quantum business park coming to Chicago, backed by $700M from state of Illinois

Friday, July 26, 2024

Former U.S. Steel plant will host ‘quantum campus’ development

By ANDREW ADAMS

Capitol News Illinois

aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com

CHICAGO – A California-based quantum computing company wants to build one of the largest quantum computers in the world on Chicago’s southeast side and the state is chipping in hundreds of millions of dollars to help make it happen. 

PsiQuantum will be the first tenant of the “Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park,” the latest development toward turning Illinois into a “global quantum capital,” a vision laid out by Gov. JB Pritzker. 

In the latest economic development deal from Pritzker’s development-friendly administration, PsiQuantum is set to receive $200 million in tax breaks and other incentives through several state programs, including $92 million from the state’s Manufacturing Illinois Chips for Real Opportunity Act, or MICRO.

The company, as part of the agreement, must put up $1.1 billion for the project, which is planned to include the first “utility-scale quantum computer in the United States,” according to PsiQuantum CEO Jeremy O’Brien.

State law was amended earlier this year to make quantum-related companies eligible for MICRO incentives, originally intended to spur microchip manufacturing. This is the first agreement under that law since the incentive program launched in 2023.    

Read more: Quantum technology companies set for big tax incentives under new law

The agreement between the state and PsiQuantum comes alongside an additional $500 million set aside by state lawmakers in the fiscal year 2025 budget to pay for other parts of the “quantum campus” development, located at the long-vacant former site of South Works, a former US Steel manufacturing plant. 

That property, situated at the mouth of the Calumet River, has been the subject of many proposed developments since its steel mill closed in 1992. At its peak, the facility employed upwards of 20,000 people. 

According to U.S. Census Bureau data, the zip code containing the development site had a median household income of $39,862 in 2022, compared to $71,673 for Chicago as a whole.

“Today’s historic announcement reflects a significant commitment by state and local units of government to a neighborhood, a community of color, that has long been marginalized and is overdue for genuine investment,” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said. 

The quantum campus will take up 128 acres along the Lake Michigan shore, with another 312 acres available for additional expansion or other developments. The governor’s office said the location provides access to water needed for cooling at the facility and is close to the University of Chicago, one of the main organizations involved in the Chicago Quantum Exchange. 

The PsiQuantum facility is going to be built “as fast as possible,” according to Curt Bailey, head of Related Midwest, the development firm behind the site. Bailey added that he expects it “up and running” in 2027. 

Under the terms of its agreement with the state, PsiQuantum will create 154 new jobs. Pritzker, although hesitant to commit to specifics, said there could be “thousands” of jobs at the research park when it is fully developed and “tens of thousands” of quantum-related jobs around Illinois. 

Boosters of quantum technology say it could be revolutionary in advancing data security, medical research, materials science, scientific research and other fields. 

“I ask you to think about the invention of the internet, visible LED or the MRI – all of which traces back to the University of Illinois and back to the great state of Illinois,” U of I Urbana-Champaign Chancellor Robert Jones said. “I challenge you to imagine a societal change at scale and speed even bigger than those three examples that I gave. To put it simply: that is the future that we are ushering in.” 

The technology uses the behavior of subatomic particles to perform computational tasks in ways and at speeds that traditionally built computers cannot. Five years ago, Google announced its quantum computer was able to complete a task in 200 seconds they said would have taken a traditional computer 10,000 years. 

Last week, the governor announced another step towards developing the state’s quantum campus: a partnership with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. DARPA is set to launch a “Quantum Proving Ground” at the quantum campus, part of its broader quantum research initiatives. 

The goal of DARPA’s involvement is to establish what quantum computing can be used for once it is fully developed and to determine if building an industrial-scale quantum computer is even possible. 

Along with research collaboration, DARPA will put up to $140 million of funds toward the project. The broader quantum campus will include cryogenic facilities, laboratories and space for both private and university-backed research. 

While the investment is significant, Joe Altepeter, the scientist in charge DARPA’s quantum initiative, said last week he is approaching quantum developments with “skepticism” as researchers test the limits of the still-unproven technology. 

“I will bring a small army of scientists and engineers, we will listen to your evidence, and we will double and triple check using our own analysis,” Altepeter said. “And if we’re convinced the technology you’re developing checks out and you’re onto something big, we’ll tell the rest of government and become a strong advocate for your approach.”

The military research organization is known for its role in the early development of the modern internet, computer graphics, weather satellites, GPS, the precursor to Apple’s Siri digital assistant, and many other projects. 

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of print and broadcast outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.

Andrew Adams

Andrew has experience covering cities and communities throughout Illinois and his stories have appeared in papers from Chicago to Effingham. His unique blend of data-driven and traditional reporting help identify the throughlines of policy and politics.

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