IonQ and EPB to take quantum memory out of the lab and onto the network

When news stories come out about quantum technology, terms like ‘quantum computing’, ‘qubit counts’, ‘error correction’, and ‘fault tolerance’ are what tend to be seen in the headline. But another technology, quantum memory, may prove to be just as important in the long term. And it is this technology that will be one of the prime focuses of the ‘Tennessee Quantum Communications Research Center’, which IonQ and EPB announced plans to jointly establish on 3 August 2026.

On the surface, the announcement may appear to be another example of regional investment in quantum infrastructure. However, a closer look suggests something more interesting may be taking place. Specifically, the centre is not merely a new isolated research lab, but rather it will be directly connected to a real-world operational network, and will house what the companies describe as the world’s first commercial quantum memory embedded within an operational communications network.

Why quantum memory matters

To answer this, it’s worth taking a step back to look at the role quantum memory plays in quantum communications.

In classical communication networks, signals weaken with distance, and so need to be periodically amplified or repeated (using classical repeaters positioned in the network) to make sure that they reach their destination in a readable state. This same degradation problem also occurs with quantum signals (indeed, it is even worse here), but in this case it is more difficult to solve. The no-cloning theorem tells us that copying unknown quantum states is impossible, and measurement of the state destroys the very quantum properties that make quantum communications useful in the first place.

As such, quantum repeaters, whilst still necessary, will not be able to operate on the same principles as classical repeaters. Instead, a quantum repeater will be designed to establish an entanglement connection between two points that the quantum repeater sits between. By using a chain of these quantum repeaters, a single entangled connection can then be formed between start and end points of a network that may be separated by many thousands of kilometres. But creating such a chain takes time, and so quantum memory is needed to store quantum information long enough to synchronise the links.

Without effective quantum memories then, the vision of a true quantum internet becomes much harder to realise.

Moving quantum memory beyond the laboratory

As mentioned above, the new centre, which will be based in Chattanooga, will host what the companies describe as the world’s first commercial quantum memory embedded within an operational communications network. IonQ (the US-based quantum computing company) has committed $15 million over five years to support the initiative, while EPB (an energy and fiber optic telecommunications provider) will provide access to a live fibre-optic network environment. And it is this integration with a live network that is the key point.

Up to now, quantum memory has (for the most part) been demonstrated in research settings, but turning it into a useful network component is a much harder engineering problem. Put another way, the challenge is not merely whether quantum information can be stored in principle (we know it can), but whether it can be stored, retrieved, coupled into and out of photonic systems, and made reliable under realistic network conditions. A live fibre network testbed therefore has obvious practical value, as this allows researchers to investigate how components behave in an environment closer to the one in which any future quantum internet would actually have to operate.

The broader Chattanooga quantum ecosystem

The broader context of this announcement is also worth a mention, as it is building on an existing relationship between IonQ and EPB.

In 2025, the two organisations announced a $22 million initiative aimed at establishing Chattanooga as a hub for quantum computing and quantum networking. That effort included deployment plans for an IonQ Forte Enterprise quantum computer and continued development of the EPB Quantum Network, a commercially accessible quantum networking environment designed for real-world testing and experimentation.

The new communications research centre can therefore be viewed as adding a third component to an increasingly sophisticated quantum stack. Specifically, Chattanooga already has network infrastructure, it hosts (or is in the process of hosting) a commercial quantum computing system, and now it is adding quantum memory research.

Viewed together, these developments hint at a longer-term ambition of creating an environment in which disparate quantum computers can be operated as part of a distributed quantum computing system over a quantum network.

Looking beyond the headline

For the quantum communications sector, the potential impact of the research at this centre in the coming years could be significant. Much of the discussion around quantum networks has focused on the long-term vision of a quantum internet. E.g., networks able to distribute entanglement, connect quantum processors, support quantum-secure communications and enable distributed quantum computing. But that vision depends on a series of difficult intermediate technologies becoming robust enough for deployment, and quantum memory is one of those technologies. A centre that tests it directly within operational telecom infrastructure could help move the sector from proof-of-principle demonstrations towards engineering evidence.

More broadly, the centre also represents another example of the way in which quantum technology is increasingly being framed in the context of real-world application, which has been a recurring theme in several of our articles (see here, here, and here). Governments, utilities, telecoms providers, hardware companies and research institutions are no longer treating quantum purely as a laboratory discipline. They are beginning to ask what physical networks, testbeds, standards, skills pipelines and commercial access models will be needed if quantum technologies are to become practically useful.

Of course, all of this hinges on the results that we see from this new centre in the coming years. And on this point, it is worth a passing comment that the public information made available so far does not include a detailed roadmap outlining the expectations of the facility, either in terms of expected technical or commercial milestones.

But putting this aside, the direction of travel indicated by this new research facility is clear. Quantum communications research is moving away from controlled laboratory environments, and towards the networks on which real-world adoption will ultimately depend.