Sector: Materials
Lead Organisation: Q-CTRL UK Limited
Project Partners: Johnson Matthey Technology Centres, NQCC
Hydrogen fuel cells are a promising zero‑emission energy source with the potential to provide clean power to electric vehicles. However, uptake is currently limited due to the requirement for costly Platinum Group Metal (PGM) catalysts. This project explored the use of quantum computing to improve the performance of a low‑cost, metal‑free alternative catalyst based on nitrogen‑doped graphene. By formulating the nitrogen placement as an optimisation problem, Q‑CTRL used its Fire Opal software with IBM quantum computers to determine which graphene configurations yield high dopant densities to maximise catalyst performance. Working with Johnson Matthey, a world leader in sustainable technology solutions, the project explored the potential for quantum computers to become a key part of a future catalyst design tool.