Integrating Cat-Qubit Quantum Computers into Standard HPC Workflow and Job Scheduling Software SLURM

New access to widely used supercomputer resource management infrastructure makes it easier for researchers to incorporate cat-qubits into standard workflows.

Alice & Bob, a global leader in the race for fault-tolerant quantum computing, today announced the software integration of their future QPUs with high performance computing (HPC) environments via SLURM, the world’s most widely used workload management system, present in 60% of the world’s top supercomputers.

Developed in collaboration with the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) Hartree Centre through the Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation (HNCDI), this integration makes Alice & Bob’s technology compatible with existing HPC workflows, marking the first time cat-qubit technology is adapted for seamless scheduling and execution within standard HPC resource management frameworks.

SLURM allocates computing resources and schedules jobs to run efficiently, managing queues of pending tasks and deciding which resources – CPUs, GPUs, and in the future, QPUs – to use and how much of each resource should be leveraged to maximize throughput.

“Enabling quantum processors to be scheduled and used just like any other HPC resource is a foundational pillar of impactful hybrid quantum-classical integration. This work makes early fault-tolerant quantum computing practical and accessible for future scientific and industrial applications.”

Stefano Mensa, Advanced Computing and Emerging Technologies Group Leader at The Hartree Centre

This partnership also represents a key part of a larger project to develop open-source tools and frameworks that enable quantum and classical compute architectures to operate together at scale, a necessary step for scientific discovery and industry use cases.

“This collaboration facilitates deployment of our machines for the HPC community as well as easier access for end users. Partnering with the world-class experts at the Hartree Centre ensures this integration aligns with how end users actually run workloads, accelerating adoption of our technology.”

Theau Peronnin, CEO of Alice & Bob

“Only a few quantum hardware developers in the world have announced SLURM integration. Our collaboration with the Hartree Centre, a leading applied HPC centre, sets us apart by targeting real HPC user environments and the scheduler used by most of the world’s top supercomputers.”

Philippe Muller, VP of Business and Revenue at Alice & Bob

The strategic collaboration also aims to expand accessibility for thousands of researchers, as SLURM now provides open-source, fault-tolerant, and highly scalable cluster management and job scheduling for HPC workloads that integrate cat-qubit processors.

This work addresses a critical gap between standalone quantum hardware and real applications. The collaborative effort is essential for integrating hybrid quantum–classical workflows into operational HPC environments.”

Ariana Torres-Knoop, Quantum Computing Lead at SURF, the IT cooperative of Dutch education and research institutions

In a recent report, Alice & Bob detailed how quantum computing will accelerate HPC workloads within the next 5 years. The company’s strategic partnership with the Hartree Centre marks a significant milestone toward this goal through the implementation of a key enabling technology for practical integration.