Quantum computers could curb the vast energy demands of artificial intelligence data centres with their ability to run complex calculations, one of the tech's pioneers told AFP.
Australian startup Diraq is conducting the first field test worldwide putting a small quantum computer based on a silicon chip in a commercial data centre in Sydney.
Gigawatt-scale energy demand from large data centres -- warehouse-like buildings full of servers used to train or run AI tools -- requires new power plants or increases pressure on electrical grids, sparking community backlash.
But, according to Diraq founder Andrew Dzurak, quantum computing is making the leap out of university labs and will be ready to lift the burden in data centres within five years.
"One of the reasons the next generations of AI are looking to consume so much power is that a whole class of the problems they are solving are problems that really are much better suited to quantum calculations," he told AFP.
Quantum computers harness the power of quantum mechanics -- laws that govern how physics operates at atomic and sub-atomic scales -- to process information in ways traditional computers cannot.
They usually require extremely cold cryogenic temperatures.
But Diraq's model, a self-contained system, draws less than 20 kilowatts of power as it runs alongside a computer humming at room temperature in the data centre.
Potential uses beyond powering AI include rapidly and energy-efficiently calculating the "behaviour of molecules that could be used in pharmaceuticals, or much lighter batteries or the chemical industry", Dzurak said.
Using quantum for drug trials could boost success by 10 percent and reduce the cost of bringing a new medicine to market by a third, if it runs for under $100 million per year, the company estimates.
"It will only happen if we can build quantum computers that are cost-effective," Dzurak said.
Diraq is among six global companies at the third stage of the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) quantum benchmarking initiative -- which will test if any quantum computer can solve real problems at a cost that delivers value by 2033.
Another Australian startup, PsiQuantum, is also on the DARPA list and backed by a Au$1 billion Australian government investment to build a different model of quantum computer in Queensland state. Construction started in June.
The country is experiencing a Silicon Valley moment in quantum, said Dzurak.
Australian physicist Michelle Simmons' startup Silicon Quantum Computing was named by Time magazine as having one of the best inventions of 2026, a quantum-enhanced AI chip.
Australia has been a global leader in quantum science for decades, partly because of investment in startups emerging from universities, said President of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Cathy Foley.
"Australia has more than 50 quantum-related businesses operating here," she told AFP.
But "commercialisation is certainly one of our biggest challenges", she said.
"Australia is very good at making discoveries, but turning them into successful businesses requires much more than great science."
The Australian government has made quantum a priority through its AUKUS defence technology partnership with Britain and the United States, Foley said.
AUKUS has reduced the security barriers for sharing quantum technology between the countries, which has been "essential" for Diraq to work across Australia and its offices in the larger US market, said Dzurak.
Diraq's computer installed in Equinix's Sydney data centre has eight quantum bits, or qubits, on a silicon chip. This will be gradually upgraded to 150,000 qubits by 2029.
Qubits, the basic unit of information, can store more data and make more advanced calculations faster than classical computers, using quantum mechanics principles.
Diraq plans to have a system with two million qubits on a silicon chip that reaches DARPA's definition by 2031, two years ahead of the deadline.
"We will have an energy usage of a couple of hundred kilowatts," he said.