Quantum Speaker Series: Research on Quantum Computing Use Cases in Power Grid

As new computing capabilities become available, there is an opportunity to solve some of the unsolved problems in power grids. In this talk, we will focus on the use cases for quantum computing that have been explored at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) related to simulations and optimization problems in the power grid. For example, electromagnetic transient (EMT) simulation is an upcoming power grid simulation need that needs significant computing resources. Using HHL, VQLS, and other variants of solvers, we have seen feasibility in using quantum computing to perform EMT simulations. Another problem is traditional NP-hard mixed-integer optimization problems like unit commitment and design optimization problems that haven’t been solved to global optima in power systems. Using VQE and QUBO algorithms with benders’ decomposition (or variants), we have been able to showcase feasibility and preliminary advantages of using quantum computing to resolve unit commitment and energy storage placement optimization problems. These examples will be discussed, along with challenges faced in these solutions and the work ahead.