EPB has launched an IonQ quantum computer at its Chattanooga quantum center, adding commercial quantum computing to the quantum networking capabilities already operating at the facility.
The IonQ Forte Enterprise computer went online Friday, Sept. 18, at the EPB Quantum Center. According to EPB, the addition makes the center the first U.S. facility to provide commercial access to both a trapped-ion quantum computer and a photonics-based local quantum network.
Vanderbilt University, which is developing a quantum research presence in Chattanooga in partnership with EPB, also describes the center that way.
Commercial access to the computer is scheduled to begin in early October, with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga serving as the first customer, according to EPB. UTC has research prepared to run on the system, and EPB is working with Vanderbilt University on an initial project.
Before commercial customers begin using the system, researchers participating in EPB’s Quantum Computing Fellows program will use it to test algorithms intended to improve the operation of EPB’s electric grid.
The program, supported by a $4 million National Institute of Standards and Technology grant, brought eight graduate researchers in fields including quantum information science, physics and engineering to Chattanooga, according to EPB.
The computer is part of a broader series of quantum-related investments announced for Chattanooga.
IonQ is investing $15 million to establish the Tennessee Quantum Communications Research Center in the city, with plans for about two dozen jobs, EPB said.
UTC plans to expand its quantum programs by adding an estimated 135 to 240 faculty, staff and students, while Vanderbilt’s Institute for Quantum Innovation is expected to bring approximately 250 researchers, faculty and staff to Chattanooga.
Vanderbilt says its Chattanooga institute will focus on quantum research, innovation and graduate-level education and will give its researchers collaborative access to the EPB Quantum Center. The university plans to have faculty, staff and graduate students working in Chattanooga, although its academic programming requires approval from accrediting bodies.
UTC already uses EPB’s quantum networking infrastructure for research. The university says its Quantum Center has access to EPB’s commercial metropolitan-scale quantum network under a 10-year agreement and is conducting research involving quantum communications, distributed quantum sensing and distributed quantum computing.
EPB is also exploring ways to combine quantum and conventional high-performance computing. According to the utility, EPB, IonQ, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and NVIDIA have installed a classical supercomputer at the Quantum Center for a project examining how the two types of computing can be used together.
One initial application involves optimizing portions of EPB’s electric grid.
Quantum computers operate differently from conventional computers, using quantum bits, or qubits, rather than conventional binary bits. The technology is being investigated for problems involving optimization, simulation and other computationally intensive tasks, although quantum computing remains in an early stage of development.
A March 2026 report from UTC’s Center for Regional Economic Research similarly described quantum computers as being in their “early development stage.”
The Chattanooga effort also includes plans to develop a local workforce for the emerging field. EPB and Hamilton County Schools have announced an Energy and Quantum Industries Academy at the Franklin-Roberts Future Ready Center.
According to EPB, the program is expected to serve about 400 high school students annually beginning in 2028, with instruction involving engineering, cybersecurity, energy systems, communications infrastructure and quantum science.
Hamilton County Schools also has been selected by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development to pilot a K-12 quantum education initiative called TN QuantumWorks.
EPB entered commercial quantum networking in 2023 with the launch of the EPB Quantum Network. The addition of the IonQ computer expands the center into computing, giving businesses, universities and researchers access to both technologies at the Chattanooga facility.