EPB will add hybrid computing to its quantum center through a partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Nvidia and quantum hardware company IonQ, the Chattanooga utility and internet provider announced Wednesday.
The combination of classical supercomputing with cutting-edge quantum computing further establishes EPB as a national leader in developing real-world applications for quantum technology, EPB said in a press release.
The local power company and the nation’s largest multi-program science and tech lab will work with Nvidia, the most valuable company in the U.S., to study ways to optimize power grids.
The new partnership, announced at the Quantum World Congress in Washington, D.C., will focus on using supercomputing to decrease power outages and voltage drops while balancing electricity demand.
(READ MORE: EPB to buy $22M quantum computer operational in 2026)
“By making a comprehensive suite of quantum development resources accessible as a real-world platform for innovation, we’re making it possible for entrepreneurs, industry leaders, national labs and universities to work side-by-side toward breakthroughs,” EPB CEO David Wade said in the release.
EPB has installed an Nvidia classical computing system to its quantum center, home since 2023 to the first commercially available quantum network in the U.S.
“The future of scientific computing will see businesses and researchers draw on both quantum and classical hardware within hybrid supercomputing systems,” said Sam Stanwyck, group product manager for quantum computing at Nvidia, in the release.
Hybrid computing will allow Oak Ridge researchers to analyze trillions of data points from EPB’s automated power grid in ways that weren’t previously possible.
EPB began working with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory and Qubitekk in 2016 to develop a quantum security system for the U.S. electric grid. IonQ completed an acquisition of Qubitekk in 2025.
“From advancing grid automation to pioneering quantum-secure communication, our joint efforts have repeatedly moved technologies from concept to practical application,” Oak Ridge Director Stephen Streiffer said in the release. “This next phase builds on that record of success to push the boundaries of what’s possible for the nation’s energy future.”
The partners plan to make their research applicable and available to other energy systems to use. EPB operates a 600-square-mile grid in Southeast Tennessee, delivering electricity to nearly 200,000 homes and businesses.
EPB launched the world’s fastest communitywide internet in 2010, making Chattanooga the first U.S. city with gigabit-per-second internet. It served fiber optics internet to more than 130,000 customers last year.
It also automated its power system into a Smart Grid which has collected trillions of data points across 15,000 miles of fiber optic cable since 2009, the release said.
— Compiled by Daniel Dassow