In a breakthrough that could reshape the future of computing, researchers from Fujitsu and Osaka University have unveiled a pair of game-changing technologies designed to supercharge the march toward practical quantum computing. The innovations significantly shrink the error-prone territory that has long hampered large-scale quantum calculations, clearing a pathway to run complex quantum algorithms at speeds that leave even today's fastest classical computers in the dust – and with a fraction of the qubits once thought necessary.

The secret sauce lies in the team's optimized approach to analog rotation quantum computing architecture, a novel framework they first introduced to the world in March 2023. While promising, early versions of this architecture stumbled over twin hurdles: inconsistent phase rotation accuracy and a dearth of practical procedures for operating qubits.

Those roadblocks have now been lifted. The team's new techniques, one honing phase rotation precision and another auto-generating streamlined qubit operation procedures, have theoretically cracked a computational nut that would keep classical computers grinding away for five long years. A quantum machine armed with their breakthroughs could solve the same problem – estimating material energy – in a blistering ten hours, and with a mere 60,000 qubits. That's a quantum leap from the one million qubits previously estimated for fault-tolerant quantum computation (FTQC) to outpace classical machines.

This milestone shatters the illusion that quantum advantage – the holy grail of quantum computing, where quantum machines definitively outrun their classical counterparts – is the exclusive domain of the fault-tolerant era, projected to dawn around 2050. Instead, the Japanese team has demonstrated that quantum advantage can be within reach even in the early-FTQC era arriving as soon as 2030, when machines will likely still top out at around 100,000 physical qubits.

The implications are profound. Quantum computing could soon turbocharge simulations of the Hubbard model, a Holy Grail for materials scientists seeking to design high-temperature superconductors. Such materials could revolutionize energy transmission infrastructure with lossless power lines. And by enabling more complex molecular analysis, quantum computers may unlock breakthroughs in drug discovery and materials science.

A key to these advances was the creation of a quantum circuit generator. This automated system streamlines the conversion of abstract logic gates into the physical gate sequences that actually manipulate qubits. By intelligently adapting qubit operations on the fly, it minimizes computation time.

For a partnership already making waves in the quantum community, this success further cements the position of Fujitsu and Osaka University at the vanguard of quantum computing research. As they continue their joint initiatives, they aim to harness the power of quantum computing to tackle some of society's most pressing challenges, from decarbonization to slashing the costs of developing novel materials.

This research was made possible through support from the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST); the Program on Open Innovation Platforms for Industry-academia Co-creation (COI-NEXT), "Quantum Software Research Hub" (JPMJPF2014); JST Moonshot Goal 6 "Realization of a fault-tolerant universal quantum computer that will revolutionize economy, industry, and security by 2050", R&D project "Research and Development of Theory and Software for Fault-tolerant Quantum Computers" (JPMJMS2061); and Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's Quantum Leap Flagship Program (MEXT Q-LEAP) "Development of quantum software by intelligent quantum system design and its applications" (JPMXS0120319794).