New techniques could harness the power of quantum computing for carbon capture

In California, in a research paper released by Quantinuum in collaboration with TotalEnergies, a quantum algorithm accurately modeled carbon capture in metal organic frameworks (MOFs). The new techniques break down the complex molecular interactions of carbon dioxide with MOFs for simulation on a quantum computer.

The scientists believe these techniques will accelerate progress on developing MOFs to help stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. By investigating different fragmentation strategies and solvers, they propose a methodology to apply quantum computing to Al-fumarate interacting with a CO2 molecule, demonstrating the feasibility of treating a complex porous system as a concrete application of quantum computing. Their work paves the way for the use of quantum computing techniques in the quest of sorbents optimization for more efficient carbon capture and conversion applications.