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Former South Works steel site will be transformed into a massive quantum campus (Updated)

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PsiQuantum, a Palo Alto, California-based company, is planning a multibillion-dollar investment in Chicago to build the nation’s first commercially useful quantum computer, according to Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office.

The company plans to be the anchor tenant of the state’s future quantum campus at the former U.S. Steel South Works site, breathing life into the long-vacant property. […]

Quantum computing creates infinite combinations of the “binary bits” used by computers to calculate larger and more complex problems. It could lead to the manufacturing of new medical drugs and make sensitive data almost impermeable to hacking, among other possibilities touted by experts.

* Crain’s…

PsiQuantum’s facility will be about 300,000 square feet and employ up to 150 people within five years. The centerpiece of the project is a unique super-cold computing facility where blast furnaces once stood.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker predicts the campus will make Illinois “the undisputed leader of quantum computing,” ultimately attracting more than $20 billion in private and public investment and thousands of jobs. […]

Related Midwest is leading the development of the USX site, which includes another 312 acres beyond the quantum campus. Clayco will oversee construction, and its architecture subsidiary, Lamar Johnson Collaborative, will handle design. The project is a potential lifeline at a time when the pipeline of large construction projects is drying up.

The state will provide $200 million to PsiQuantum in grants, workforce development assistance, a low-interest loan and other incentives in exchange for a minimum investment of $1 billion by the company. Psi is a startup that has raised more than $700 million.

* Business Wire…

To bolster the Quantum Park and help build an even stronger quantum ecosystem, PsiQuantum will partner with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Chicago, University of Illinois Chicago and Northwestern University to collaborate on research projects and explore opportunities to develop educational programs in quantum applications. PsiQuantum’s operations in Chicago will create at least 150 jobs in the next five years and will be critical in developing a strong workforce that includes not only PhDs in quantum physics, but careers in mechanical, optical, and electrical engineering; software development; and technical lab work.

“We’re excited to be partnering with PsiQuantum and the Governor’s office to make the IQMP the leading quantum computing hub in the world,” said University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Chancellor Robert Jones. “The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign along with our other university partners will be working closely with PsiQuantum in the build-out of the cryogenic plant that will support the first US-based utility-scale quantum computer. This collaboration with the PsiQuantum team will bolster Illinois’ quantum workforce and scale this technology into a new quantum reality.”

…Adding… Press release…

Governor JB Pritzker was joined by federal, state, and local leaders and partners to reveal the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park’s (IQMP) location at USX on the South Side of Chicago and announce the quantum campus’ first anchor tenant – PsiQuantum. As the leading quantum computing company focused on building the first useful, error-corrected quantum computer, PsiQuantum will drive innovation, competitive research, and economic growth in Illinois.

“PsiQuantum brings years of foundational research and scientific groundwork, a clear and comprehensive business and tech development strategy, and a global reputation as a pioneer in quantum computing applications—I am thrilled to welcome them to Chicago and have them as a partner in the work ahead of us,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Our vision of Illinois as a global quantum capital comes further into focus at Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, providing limitless opportunities for economic investment and innovation right here on the South Side.” […]

“Governor Pritzker and his administration have made extraordinary progress in establishing the state as a global leader in quantum computing, and PsiQuantum is thrilled to partner with them and anchor the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park,” said Prof. Jeremy O’Brien, PsiQuantum CEO and co-founder. “The IQMP will serve as a hub for the state’s thriving quantum ecosystem, and we can think of no better place to build the first utility-scale quantum computer in the United States.”

posted by Isabel Miller
Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 9:50 am

Comments

Absolutely best choice for this project, and for adjacent Chicago communities.

Comment by walker Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 9:54 am
Am I the only one who senses a Pritzker vs Johnson behind-the-scenes battle brewing for credit on this?

Comment by Telly Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 10:00 am
While I selfishly would prefer as much of the lakefront to become parkland as possible, the reality is that lots of money and effort was going to be needed to clean up that site, and the money wasn’t going to fall out of the sky for a park.

If this turns otherwise abandoned and polluted land into functional businesses, that is a huge win.

Comment by Homebody Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 10:00 am
===Am I the only one who senses a Pritzker vs Johnson behind-the-scenes battle brewing for credit on this?===

No, anyone with any experience in higher level government would sense it. Politico said it was listed as an undisclosed location on the Governor’s schedule.

Comment by Three Dimensional Checkers Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 10:05 am
Great news for Chicago and Illinois. Brandon keeps going like this he may just get reelected.
He needs to stop trying to be funny when holding press conferences and giving speeches. It’s not “dad” joke funny, endearing, it’s more ill-timed quips, awkward.

Comment by Frida's boss Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 10:11 am
=== Am I the only one who senses a Pritzker vs Johnson behind-the-scenes battle brewing for credit on this? ===

Why can’t they both take credit? This is a huge win for both Chicago and IL.

Comment by Mark D Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 10:27 am
== Plans including thousands of homes and a new Solo Cup Co. factory were all abandoned over time — “but I delivered,” Johnson said.==

He really likes to make things like this about himself. I have noticed he uses “I” more than just about any politician not named Donnie.

Let’s see how quick he is to take personal credit when things go bad.

Comment by Henry Francis Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 10:36 am
There have been so many false-starts for that property…I’m sad to say, but I’ll believe it when I see it.

Comment by NIU Grad Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 10:39 am
“Am I the only one who senses a Pritzker vs Johnson behind-the-scenes battle brewing for credit on this?”

Nope. JB has been all over Quantum. It has been his dream to make this happen just like it was his dream to make IL into a tech capital and his dream to bring the convention to Chicago. If Brandon is confused, that’s on him. It’s a huge win for Chicago and for our state but nobody with any familiarity with the issue is confused about who deserves the credit. Last time I checked, it wasn’t Brandon who persuaded Don Harmon and Chris Welch and the ILGA to pass a $500 million fund for Quantum. That said, a lot of orgs were involved in the effort including DCEO, Intersect, World Business Chicago, etc. Success has a thousand parents.

Comment by New Day Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 10:42 am
Agree with New Day. Pritzker’s team knows how to make things happen. Does Johnson even have an economic development team?

Comment by Friendly Bob Adams Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 11:06 am
===While I selfishly would prefer as much of the lakefront to become parkland as possible, the reality is that lots of money and effort was going to be needed to clean up that site, and the money wasn’t going to fall out of the sky for a park.===

Agreed. I think there is still some potential to add in public green space along the lake. According to the excerpts above, the site includes roughly 300 acres that are not part of this quantum company’s development. A thoughtful development plan could still provide for needed public green space on this abandoned site. I hope the players involved see that as an important secondary goal for this investment.

Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 11:09 am
Agree, Pritzker deserves much of the credit for Illinois’ tech transformation. But Johnson deserves credit as well, helping land this massive job creating project.

Comment by Grandson of Man Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 11:17 am
Absolutely outstanding. More than enough credit to go around after it is built. And I love the fact that a super cold computer is going on site of a blast furnace. Times do change

Comment by DuPage Saint Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 11:22 am
Absolutely outstanding. More than enough credit to go around after it is built. And I love the fact that a super cold computer is going on site of a blast furnace. Times do change

Comment by DuPage Saint Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 11:22 am
Wonderful!

Comment by hisgirlfriday Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 11:22 am
Will there be a Quantum Campus there or not?
You won’t know until you look.

Comment by We've never had one before Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 11:58 am
What’s showing though they’re still not on the same page….

JB schedule- undisclosed location 1pm announce new business investment
Preckwinle schedule- at Governor’s 1pm presser for new business investment
Brandon’s schedule-At Steelworkers Park at 1pm for the PsiQuantum quantum campus announcement.

Gov’s people obviously wanted it to say one thing and Brandon and his people did whatever they wanted, again.

Comment by Frida's boss Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 11:58 am
Somewhere Jesse Jr is smiling. He tirelessly promoted that site for 18 years and led the effort to put in the infrastructure that will make redevelopment possible.

Comment by Southside Slim Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 12:10 pm
Pritzker and his team have been working toward this specific goal for at least four years and won if for Illinois. Various sites in the state and city have been discussed, and the Mayor might have had some influence on which site was chosen. All in, a lot of players, and a great choice.

Comment by Walker Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 12:26 pm
I never truly understood the impact of the mills closing until I worked down there for a bit. Then I really saw the devastating impact it had on the SE side. Its a good sign something is finally happening there.

Comment by low level Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 12:48 pm
>>We’ve never had one before - Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 11:58 am:

Will there be a Quantum Campus there or not?
You won’t know until you look.

Comment by Math(Usually)Doesn'tLie Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 12:50 pm
Sorry, I didn’t grab the whole quote — the above remark was by “We’ve never had one before” and it gets my vote for quip of the year

Comment by Math(Usually)Doesn'tLie Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 12:53 pm
==What’s showing though they’re still not on the same page….==

This seems like a bit of a stretch. They clearly worked together to land the investment. That’s all that really matters.

Comment by supplied_demand Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 1:33 pm
Let me start with this is excellent and I am glad it is coming near my old neck of the woods. I am surprised the Mayor of Dolton wasn’t there trying
to take credit.

It will be interesting to see how much impact this has on the area in general. Will it be a specialized data center with a limited use case, or will the demand for this type of computing power be bigger than expected?

There is a lot of hype around quantum computing; once it becomes more practical, we will know how much the hype translates into reality.

Stay tuned, and I’m looking forward to the first bits being flipped.

Comment by OneMan Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 2:52 pm
Gov Pritzker set aside $500M in taxpayer dollars for quantum investments as part of the FY25 state budget. $200M of that goes to PsiQuantum (a Silicon Valley start-up) to build something called a cryogenic cooling plant. PsiQuantum’s current valuation is somewhere around $3.14B and yet the care economy continues to take it on the chin from the state and federal government.. It’s frustrating and I totally get how political will works yet I struggle to see how this quantum and micro-electronics park couldn’t be done without dipping into the state budget. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Comment by Dad Can Dance Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 3:09 pm
Frida’s boss 11:58 comment above deserves more scrutiny.

Did Brandon Johnson jump ahead of the presser and get the press release out first, to grab the headlines like in the Sun-Times? That’ll go over well with Toni and JB, but it seems in character.

Comment by ZC Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 3:22 pm
===jump ahead of the presser and get the press release out first===

Seems so.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 3:23 pm
===This seems like a bit of a stretch.===

It is not a stretch. This is not how three government offices jointly announce an achievement.

I know Lightfoot and Pritzker had an icy relationship, but I cannot recall her stepping on one of his big accomplishments like this ever. A new low in collaboration.

Comment by Three Dimensional Checkers Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 3:26 pm
“But Johnson deserves credit as well, helping land this massive job creating project.”

For what? Not screwing it up?

Comment by New Day Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 4:21 pm
I am in tech and I am SO excited for Chicago to be a quantum hub. I’m upskilling through the Chicago Quantum Exchange’s programs for professionals, and going to events from various partners, and they are all so exciting and so wonderful. It is time and past to keep midwestern tech talent in the Midwest, and quantum computing is a very exciting frontier.

I think probably not as sexy as AI, which the general public understands more easily and can interact directly with. But more likely to improve your life in subtle ways, since it’s very good at solving hard problems with tons of inputs, like, “How can I as UPS use less gas and emit less carbon while delivering packages faster?” (Traveling salesman problem, for you mathematicians.)

Comment by Suburban Mom Thursday, Jul 25, 24 @ 10:28 pm
“unique super-cold computing facility“

My spidey-sense is telling me that they’re going to use Lake Michigan to cool this, which will cause global-warming of the Lake.

Wait for it.

Comment by Free Speech Friday, Jul 26, 24 @ 7:48 am
I grew up 4 blocks from the South Works Mill, and it has remained the largest non-developed acreage on freshwater in the U.S. I hope they get the ecological remediation done, and can move forward. It’s a beautiful sight next to Rainbow Beach Park with an unmatched view of the Chicago Skyline. Who knows, maybe the Seagull Inn will reopen at 82nd S Brandon.

Comment by Brian Duffy Friday, Jul 26, 24 @ 12:35 pm