Innovation Fund Denmark has awarded a Grand Solutions grant to a new research and innovation project led by Aarhus University. The project aims to efficiently reap the potency of quantum computers and make it easily deployable in drug discovery and pharmaceutical research.
Quantum computers hold enormous potential to revolutionise drug discovery, but today this potential is limited by the fact that the technology is difficult to work with in practice. With a new Grand Solutions grant from Innovation Fund Denmark, researchers from Aarhus University and Aalborg University, together with the Danish quantum technology company Kvantify, will now develop a software stack that makes quantum computers easier to use – bringing the technology closer to practical application in the healthcare sector.
The project, ODAQS – Optimal Design Automation towards a Performant Quantum Software Stack, is led by Professor Jaco van de Pol from the Department of Computer Science at Aarhus University. The project will develop new methods and tools that make it possible to work with quantum computers in a simpler and more reliable way – without researchers and companies having to consider the technical limitations of each individual machine.
“Quantum computers have enormous potential, but today they are very difficult to use in practice. Our goal is to develop software that makes quantum technology far more accessible and usable – so it can be applied to concrete societal challenges such as the development of new medicines,” says Jaco van de Pol, project lead and Professor at the Department of Computer Science, Aarhus University.
A key part of the project focuses on using advanced learning methods to automate and optimise the development of quantum software.
“One of the major challenges in quantum software is finding good solutions without using enormous amounts of computational resources. In ODAQS, we will use reinforcement learning to let software learn how to produce more efficient quantum programs. This makes it possible to make better use of quantum computers – even with the hardware available today,” says Kim Guldstrand Larsen, Professor at Aalborg University.
A large share of the costs associated with drug development arises in the early stages, where researchers test and eliminate potential drug candidates. In the long term, quantum computers could enable far more accurate calculations of chemical processes than classical computers.
ODAQS combines research in programming languages, algorithms, optimized compilation, simulation and software verification to automate the path from ideas and calculations to finished quantum programs. The project has a particular focus on quantum chemistry and drug discovery, where improved computational methods can reduce both time and costs in the early stages of developing new medicines.
Kvantify will use the project’s results to demonstrate how improved software building blocks can be exploited and translated into reliable and practically applicable technologies for quantum-based calculations.
“If we can use quantum computers more efficiently, we can reduce both time and costs in the early stages of drug development. ODAQS provides us with an important technological foundation for bringing quantum computing closer to industrial application,” says Allan Grønlund, co-founder and CTO of Kvantify.
The project brings together research environments from Aarhus University and Aalborg University, as well as the company Kvantify. Together, they will develop crucial building blocks for software tools that can be used in research, education and industry, and which in the long term can help strengthen Denmark’s position in quantum technology.
ODAQS runs from 2026 to 2029 and is supported under Innovation Fund Denmark’s Grand Solutions programme, which invests in ambitious projects with significant potential for society and industry.
Jaco van de Pol, Professor, Department of Computer Science, Aarhus University
Tel.: +45 22 38 71 02, Email: jaco@cs.au.dk
Kim Guldstrand Larsen, Professor, Department of Computer Science, Aalborg University
Email: kgl@cs.aau.dk
Allan Grønlund, co-founder and CTO, Kvantify
Email:ag@kvantify.dk
Line Præstekjær Skouboe, Communications Officer, Innovation Fund Denmark
Tel.: +45 6190 5039 Email:line.skouboe@innofond.dk
