Speaker Interview: Joseph Mikeal, Head of Quantum Computation & Quantum Information project, EDF

First Steps in Quantum

Joseph comes from a background in quantitative finance, a sector known for its relentless pursuit of data-driven innovation: “The field is eager to embrace any form of computing power improvement, so naturally I was one of the first to be curious about IBM’s Quantum experiment in 2017 and what it could mean for our organisation.” A move to EDF soon followed, where Joseph led on AI for the asset management division of the French giant. “In parallel to this activity, EDF started to focus more intently on Quantum. Again, the move to work on Quantum was quite natural for me, as I was already associated with this new workstream at EDF on the machine learning side of things.” It would seem, then, that Mikael has naturally gravitated towards his current niche, where he has been leading Quantum activity at group level since January 2022.

Quantum as a Force for Good in Energy

How can the power of Quantum be unleased as a force for good in the energy sector? It is a question that Mikael and the team at EDF have been grappling with for some time now. “This is the big issue we’ve been working on for four years,” he explains, but their energies have also been invested in solving related challenges. He goes on: “Among other challenges, we are working on applications ranging from materials simulation, specifically materials aging, to energy optimisation, as in smart charging. We’re also working on quantum applications in machine learning and Partial Differential Equations.” The goal of all these efforts? “We are looking for quantum advantages, whether they are related to computational speed, problem size or to a CO2 footprint.” Mikael is cautiously optimistic about the outcome, explaining that while they “don’t know if there will be an advantage on one or even one of these use cases” they will carry on with the difficult task of unearthing them regardless.

Uptake at EDF

In terms of Quantum uptake, Joseph and the team tend to favour an in-house approach. “We prefer to develop our algorithms in house, using all of the usual suspects in terms of libraries – the likes of Pulser, Perceval, Qiskit, Strawberry, PennyLane, QLM, and so on. We do find ourselves using ATOS’s QLM regularly.”

Tackling the Skills Gap

For Mikael, EDF occupies something of an enviable position int the world of Quantum. “With world-class experts, EDF R&D is state-of-the-art in terms of what we can do relative to several topics,” he explains, listing “optimization, materials aging, probability risk assessment” as key areas. This position as a Quantum leader has influenced how EDF has structured its talent and resources, shoring up its defences against the impact of the industry-wide skills gap. Joseph reveals a two-part approach: “Firstly, we centralize all Quantum efforts within the same structure and try to avoid any divergence. Secondly, we work in pairs, meaning we match an expert from the ‘classical world’ with a PhD student in quantum. The former is able to challenge the algorithms proposed by the latter and so, in a way, the two are then trained together.”

France Forging Ahead?

From EDF as Quantum leader to France as a national heavyweight: what lies behind the country’s status as a leading light in quantum innovation? For Joseph, a combination of factors have solidified France’s position in the upper echelons of the national leader board. First, is the role of academia: “Many highly qualified university labs have taken the plunge and created startups. These people have turned decades of expertise into a business, and that has a very powerful influence.” He is quick to recognise the role of funds like Quantonation, France’s national quantum plan, and efforts at the European level in making this feasible. Second, of course, is the participation of big players in the ecosystem: “companies like EDF, Thales, Atos have played the game and invested in the quantum field, with the result that the French quantum network is fed by the expertise of industry too.” The final ingredient, for Mikael, is the role of Quantum clusters such as Saclay, where “quantum startups, like Pasqal and Quandela, the R&D units of large companies, and top universities are all concentrated in the same place. This certainly facilitates collaboration.” It is indeed a powerful formula, and one that is likely to be replicated as other country’s vie with France for the European Quantum crown.

The Five Year Outlook

Mikael is excited by the future prospects of quantum, prediciting that within five years “bigger machines will enable us to measure advantage without the current extrapolations and assumptions that are done now, and we’ll be able to assess the impact of noise more precisely.” In energy specifically, he envisions that “some quantum algorithms may work as good as the classical ones, but with the closer focus on CO2 footprints quantum algorithms may be preferred.” Finally, he does not see a “winning technology” emerging within the next half decade, instead foreseeing a “world of diverging technologies.”

Want to hear more? Catch Joseph Mikael in person and on-stage at QuantumTech this September in London who will be participating in the Panel Discussion The Path to Commercialization: A roadmap update from the leading processor providers on day 1! Register today for your opportunity to meet and listen in on this hot quantum topic.