Qarakal Quantum and Quantum Elements win BIRD funding for quantum catalyst simulation project

Qarakal Quantum and Quantum Elements have been selected by the BIRD Foundation for a joint quantum computing project with a $2.4 million budget. The effort aims to build a simulation platform that could speed catalyst discovery and link superconducting quantum hardware with AI-native digital twins.

Why it matters: - The project targets catalyst discovery, a core step in industries including energy, chemicals and advanced materials. - Heterogeneous catalysis is involved in the manufacture of an estimated 80% to 90% of chemical products. - Better simulation tools could help researchers study reactions that are difficult to model with conventional methods. - The collaboration could shorten the path from quantum hardware development to industrial chemistry workflows.

What happened: - Qarakal Quantum and Quantum Elements said they were selected by the Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation to jointly develop a quantum simulation platform. - The announcement was made Oct. 28, 2026, in Los Angeles. - The project is one of seven approved by the BIRD Foundation. - The project budget is $2.4 million.

The details: - The platform is intended to help understand and design chemical reactions that occur on material surfaces. - Qarakal Quantum will contribute modular superconducting quantum hardware and a hardware-software co-design approach. - Quantum Elements will contribute software for fault-tolerant quantum computing, including AI-driven co-design, error suppression, error correction and decoders. - The partners want to validate a prototype that can turn industrial catalyst problems into quantum-ready computational workflows. - The work will combine digital-twin modeling with hardware development across compilation, calibration, pulse-level execution, error suppression and algorithm design. - The companies plan to produce benchmark chemistry models and quantum algorithms. - The collaboration is expected to include demonstrations and API outputs for chemists and materials engineers. - Potential applications include clean hydrogen production, CO₂ conversion, nitrogen-fixation chemistry, hydrocarbon processing and advanced coatings. - The project will examine how quantum computing can complement high-performance computing and density functional theory for difficult problems involving strong electronic correlation, surface defects, transition-metal active sites and bond-breaking pathways.

Between the lines: - The project reflects a broader push to connect quantum hardware with practical industrial use cases rather than isolate algorithm development from the underlying machine. - The companies are positioning digital twins as a way to reduce risk before limited quantum hardware time is spent. - Qarakal Quantum CEO and co-founder Nissan Maskil said modular architecture and real-world workloads make the collaboration workable. - Quantum Elements Co-Founder and CEO Izhar Medalsy said catalyst discovery offers a test case for applying quantum digital twins and physics AI from device behavior to an industrial chemistry workflow. - The companies ultimately see the work as a foundation for a broader quantum-enabled simulation platform for industrial catalyst and materials development. - The announcement points to potential users in catalyst manufacturing, specialty materials, chemical supply and industrial R&D groups that already use computational screening, high-performance computing and lab testing.

What's next: - The partners will work toward a validated prototype and benchmark models. - Future work will focus on translating the platform into workflows that chemists and materials engineers can use. - The companies say the effort could lead to a broader platform for industrial catalyst and materials development. - BIRD Foundation support can cover up to 50% of project development costs, up to $1.5 million per project, though this project's total budget is $2.4 million. - Qarakal Quantum directs readers to more information and Quantum Elements directs readers to the company's website.