Alice & Bob lands major ARPA-E funding for next-gen magnets
French quantum startup Alice & Bob has secured a €3.4 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to accelerate the discovery of rare-earth-free permanent magnets using advanced quantum computing techniques.
Tackling the rare-earth dependency in critical materials
Permanent magnets are essential components in electric vehicles, wind turbines, consumer electronics and a wide range of industrial systems. Today, many of the highest-performance magnets rely on rare earth elements, a supply chain dominated by a small number of producing countries and exposed to price volatility, export controls and geopolitical risk.
By applying quantum algorithms to materials design, Alice & Bob aims to identify new magnetic compounds that match or outperform current rare-earth-based solutions, but use more abundant and sustainable elements. This approach could dramatically reduce the time and cost of materials discovery compared with traditional trial-and-error laboratory methods.
Quantum computing as a materials discovery engine
The ARPA-E award will support the development of specialized quantum simulation workflows capable of modeling the complex electronic structures that govern magnetic behavior at the atomic level. While classical high-performance computing can approximate these systems, fully capturing their quantum nature is often computationally prohibitive.
Alice & Bob, known for its work on fault-tolerant quantum processors based on so‑called “cat qubits,” plans to leverage its hardware roadmap together with domain experts in computational chemistry and materials science. The project is expected to generate candidate materials that industrial partners can validate experimentally, closing the loop between quantum simulation and real-world manufacturing.
Energy security, climate goals and industrial impact
For ARPA-E, backing quantum-enabled materials discovery aligns with its mandate to fund high-risk, high-impact energy innovations. Rare-earth-free magnets could strengthen energy security, lower costs for clean technologies and reduce environmental impacts associated with rare earth mining and processing.
If successful, the work led by Alice & Bob would not only showcase a practical, near- to mid-term application of quantum computing, but also offer a strategic alternative for industries dependent on critical materials, from automotive and aerospace to renewable power generation.