International Business Machines NYSE:IBM shares climbed about 3.5% on Monday after the technology company said its researchers, together with scientists from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Cleveland Clinic, used quantum computers to advance research into materials that could support future fusion energy production.
IBM NYSE:IBM said the team calculated nine molecular configurations of a molten salt material used in fusion reactor designs. The findings, published on the arXiv preprint server, may help improve the production and extraction of tritium, a scarce hydrogen isotope required to power many proposed fusion reactors.
The company said quantum computing, combined with artificial intelligence and classical computing, enabled researchers to model atomic-level chemical interactions that are difficult for conventional computers to simulate. The approach could accelerate the search for materials used in next-generation energy systems.
The collaboration includes Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Cleveland Clinic, several U.S. national laboratories, universities, and industry partners. IBM NYSE:IBM said the work represents another step toward developing the technologies needed to produce sufficient tritium for commercial fusion energy.