HQI: a hybrid quantum HPC computing platform and a research programme

HQI was launched on 4 January 2022, one year after the French President announced the National Quantum Plan.

HQI is an integrated initiative. It combines a hybrid computing platform coupling several quantum technologies to GENCI's Joliot Curie supercomputer at the TGCC (CEA), and a programme of academic and industrial research and dissemination of uses.

The HQI initiative aims to serve the needs of French and European academic and industrial researchers who want to evaluate the potential of quantum computing for their applications free of charge on a public infrastructure, as well as to develop international collaborations to promote open research.

The TGCC offers an HPC environment enabling classical-quantum hybrid computing and large-scale simulations. A Qaptiva™ system provided by EVIDEN (Bull) connects the QPUs to the HPC and also offers QPU emulation capabilities.

HQI | HQI : une plateforme de calcul hybride HPC quantique et un programme de recherche

Ruby

Ruby is the first quantum computer acquired by HQI, co-funded by EuroHPC as part of the European HPCQS project.

Ruby was inaugurated on 13 November 2025, simultaneously in Brussels, at the TGCC and in Jülich, where Ruby's twin machine, Jade, is installed.

Ruby is an analogue neutral atom computer capable of controlling 100 rubidium atoms, designed by Pasqal and delivered with various control and programming software components, such as Pulser, which is integrated with the Qaptiva environment.

• Access to Ruby :
  DARI
  F.A.Q. — Documentation
  

Lucy

Lucy is the second quantum computer acquired as part of the HQI programme, also co-funded by EuroHPC with GENCI via EuroQCS-France project, and designed and supplied by Quandela.

EuroQCS-France is a consortium led by GENCI as Hosting Entity and CEA as Hosting Site, with the University Politechnica of Bucharest (UPB, Romania), Forschungszentrum Juelich (FZJ, Germany) and Irish Centre for High-End Computing (ICHEC, Ireland).
EuroQCS-France was selected by EuroHPC JU in 2022 as a result of the call for expression of interest EUROHPC-2022-CEI-QC-01.
EuroQCS-France aims to provide European open research communities with access to a photonic quantum computer coupled with the Joliot-Curie supercomputer, just like the 100-qubit Pasqal quantum simulator Ruby, acquired in the context of the HPCQS project.

Lucy, a 12-photon photonic QPU, was installed in mid-October 2025 at the TGCC with its software provided by Quandela (Perceval, Merlin), integrated into the Qaptiva environment.

• Access to Lucy :
  DARI
  F.A.Q. — Documentation