S. 579 — Department of Energy Quantum Leadership Act of 2025

This section revises the Department of Energy's quantum information science program to a research, development, and demonstration program on quantum information science, engineering, and technology (previously, a basic research program on quantum information science). It expands and reorganizes program components to require the Secretary of Energy to (1) operate National Quantum Information Science Research Centers under section 402 to accelerate breakthroughs and maintain infrastructure for researchers and industry; (2) conduct cooperative basic and applied research with industry, national laboratories, and academia to advance specified priorities across 13 fields (previously 7), including quantum computational science (with hardware, software, machine learning, and data science), quantum communications and networking (with hardware and software), quantum sensing/imaging/detection, quantum modeling/simulation, quantum chemistry, quantum biology, superconductive microelectronics, and quantum security technologies; (3) provide research experiences and training for additional undergraduate and graduate students in those fields; (4) coordinate DOE research efforts and leverage federal and commercial quantum knowledge/data; and (5) coordinate with other agencies, research communities, and stakeholders. The section further requires DOE to (c) engage industry on quantum commercialization for energy applications, including educating sectors, advancing supply chains, facilitating lab-to-market transitions, and providing small/medium businesses access to quantum infrastructure; (d) submit to Congress, within one year of enactment, a 10-year strategic plan for hybrid high-performance computing systems integrating quantum/AI/machine learning accelerators, leveraging exascale capabilities and minimizing workforce disruptions; and (e) establish an early-stage quantum high-performance computing research and development program using hybrid quantum-classical systems and algorithms.

This section establishes the Department of Energy Quantum Instrumentation and Foundry Program to maintain U.S. leadership in quantum information science, engineering, and technology; develop domestic quantum supply chains; provide resources for the broader scientific community; and support activities under sections 401 (DOE basic research program on quantum information science), 402, 403, and 404 of the National Quantum Initiative Act. In carrying out the program, the Secretary of Energy must (1) develop, design, build, purchase, and commercialize specialized equipment, laboratory infrastructure, and state-of-the-art instrumentation for quantum engineering research and quantum component technologies; (2) leverage capabilities of National Laboratories and Nanoscale Science Research Centers; and (3) consider technologies and end-use applications with significant economic potential, as determined through consultation with academia and industry, including the Quantum Economic Development Consortium. The program further requires the Secretary, in coordination with institutions of higher education and industry, to support quantum foundries focused on device, hardware, software, and materials needs of the scientific community and quantum supply chain. The Secretary must consult with NIST, NSF, NASA, other relevant federal agencies, National Laboratories, National Quantum Information Science Research Centers, industry stakeholders, institutions of higher education, and other research institutions. The section authorizes the Secretary to use not more than $50 million for each of FY2026 through FY2030 from amounts appropriated for DOE to carry out the program.

This section revises the Department of Energy's National Quantum Information Science Research Centers program (i.e., at least two but not more than five centers established by the Office of Science to accelerate breakthroughs in quantum information science). Specifically, it (1) expands the centers' purpose beyond basic research to include engineering and technology, domestic quantum workforce capacity-building, and support for research under sections 401, 403, and 404 of the National Quantum Initiative Act (from section 401 only); (2) authorizes multi-institutional collaborations eligible for awards to include one or more commercial entities; (3) directs collaborations to be inclusive of the variety of viable quantum technologies, as appropriate; (4) broadens center requirements to advance quantum science, engineering, and technology while accelerating quantum workforce development (removing the prior focus on basic research); (5) replaces the prior reapplication process for five-year awards with a renewal option for an additional five years following a successful, merit-based review and approval by the Office of Science Director; and (6) authorizes $35 million annually for the centers for FY2026 through FY2030 (from $25 million annually for FY2019 through FY2023).

This section revises the Department of Energy Quantum Network Infrastructure Research, Development, and Demonstration Program (15 U.S.C. 8853) as follows: (1) expands the program's purposes in subsection (a) to leverage a diversity of quantum modalities and commercially available hardware and software and to develop education and training pathways aligned with existing DOE investments; (2) in subsection (b), adds the NASA Administrator (and other relevant agency heads, as determined by the Secretary) to the coordination list; broadens cooperative research in paragraph (2) to explicitly include ground-to-space connections, all applicable quantum bit modalities, quantum repeaters and quantum sensors, data centers, quantum technology modality stacks at National Laboratories such as those of DOE, quantum network and entanglement distribution protocols for integration with existing infrastructure, and high-efficiency room-temperature photon detectors; and strikes "basic" from paragraph (4) (now covering advanced materials research) and "fundamental" from paragraph (5); and (3) in subsection (d), replaces "basic research" with "research, development, and demonstration." (As background, the program accelerates quantum network innovations to enable distributed quantum computing, secure communications, and domestic supply chains, including demonstrations on DOE's Energy Sciences Network.)

This section modifies the Department of Energy's Quantum User Expansion for Science and Technology program (QUEST program)—which facilitates U.S.-based researchers' competitive, merit-reviewed access to quantum computing hardware and cloud resources to advance the U.S. quantum research enterprise, workforce, capabilities, and supply chains—as follows: (1) in subsection (a), expanding facilitated access to include quantum computing software and cloud-based quantum computing (from hardware and quantum computing clouds) and adding two purposes: to enable development of software and applications, including estimation of resources needed to scale applications, and to develop near-term quantum applications to solve public- and private-sector problems; (2) in subsection (b), adding two requirements for the Secretary: to enable users to develop algorithms, software tools, simulators, and applications for quantum systems using cloud-based quantum computers, and to partner with public- and private-sector entities to develop training and education opportunities on prototype and early-stage devices to support commercial applications; (3) in subsection (c), adding the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to the list of entities whose resources and expertise the Secretary must leverage; and (4) in subsection (e), authorizing appropriations of $38 million for FY2028, $39.9 million for FY2029, and $41.895 million for FY2030.