{"paper":{"title":"Energy efficiency of quantum computers","license":"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/","headline":"Energy efficiency of a quantum computer is defined as the number of algorithms it can run per unit of energy consumed, including all hardware overheads.","cross_cats":[],"primary_cat":"quant-ph","authors_text":"Andr\\'es G\\'omez, Ariane Soret, Carmen G. Almud\\'ever, Eduard Alarc\\'on, Gerard Milburn, Irais Bautista, Jose Miralles, Klara Theophilo, Miquel Carrasco-Codina, Pau Escofet, Paul Hilaire, Raja Yehia, Sam Nerenberg, Sergi Abadal, Sophie H. Li, Victor Champain","submitted_at":"2026-05-14T17:11:18Z","abstract_excerpt":"How much energy does a quantum computer consume? Are they more efficient than their classical counterparts? In this work, we make a step towards answering these questions. We define the energy efficiency of a quantum computer as the ratio of the number of algorithms it can perform during a given time over the energy consumed by the hardware during this time. We analyze the most representative physical platforms currently envisioned to be used as building blocks of quantum computers: superconducting qubits, silicon spin qubits, trapped ions, neutral atoms and photonic qubits. Including insights"},"claims":{"count":4,"items":[{"kind":"strongest_claim","text":"We define the energy efficiency of a quantum computer as the ratio of the number of algorithms it can perform during a given time over the energy consumed by the hardware during this time.","source":"verdict.strongest_claim","status":"machine_extracted","claim_id":"C1","attestation":"unclaimed"},{"kind":"weakest_assumption","text":"That the energy consumption estimates for each platform, including overheads from cooling, control systems, and algorithm compilation, are accurate and representative based on expert insights.","source":"verdict.weakest_assumption","status":"machine_extracted","claim_id":"C2","attestation":"unclaimed"},{"kind":"one_line_summary","text":"A new definition of quantum computer energy efficiency is introduced and applied to five major qubit platforms, yielding concrete consumption estimates for current systems and a benchmarking framework for future architectures.","source":"verdict.one_line_summary","status":"machine_extracted","claim_id":"C3","attestation":"unclaimed"},{"kind":"headline","text":"Energy efficiency of a quantum computer is defined as the number of algorithms it can run per unit of energy consumed, including all hardware overheads.","source":"verdict.pith_extraction.headline","status":"machine_extracted","claim_id":"C4","attestation":"unclaimed"}],"snapshot_sha256":"38b1d0fd35a4e289811c01938051c856ae21b8f6a52f92f369c0c1539cf8f094"},"source":{"id":"2605.15090","kind":"arxiv","version":1},"verdict":{"id":"f6e0dec0-8bb8-42b6-a09b-aa405c504305","model_set":{"reader":"grok-4.3"},"created_at":"2026-05-15T03:13:00.192866Z","strongest_claim":"We define the energy efficiency of a quantum computer as the ratio of the number of algorithms it can perform during a given time over the energy consumed by the hardware during this time.","one_line_summary":"A new definition of quantum computer energy efficiency is introduced and applied to five major qubit platforms, yielding concrete consumption estimates for current systems and a benchmarking framework for future architectures.","pipeline_version":"pith-pipeline@v0.9.0","weakest_assumption":"That the energy consumption estimates for each platform, including overheads from cooling, control systems, and algorithm compilation, are accurate and representative based on expert insights.","pith_extraction_headline":"Energy efficiency of a quantum computer is defined as the number of algorithms it can run per unit of energy consumed, including all hardware overheads."},"references":{"count":184,"sample":[{"doi":"","year":2022,"title":"Quantum technologies need a quantum energy initiative.PRX Quantum, 3:020101, Jun 2022","work_id":"a471e4b6-458e-473d-9eca-4db0c566c462","ref_index":1,"cited_arxiv_id":"","is_internal_anchor":false},{"doi":"","year":2025,"title":"Mind the gaps: The fraught road to quantum advantage, 2025","work_id":"0e7b1ff4-8158-4455-a73f-b9c2405456bf","ref_index":2,"cited_arxiv_id":"","is_internal_anchor":false},{"doi":"","year":2023,"title":"Whitney, and Alexia Auffèves","work_id":"bb70eb2f-4598-42ff-a350-2915c750178c","ref_index":3,"cited_arxiv_id":"","is_internal_anchor":false},{"doi":"","year":2024,"title":"Andreas J. C. Woitzik, Lukas Hoffmann, Andreas Buchleitner, and Edoardo G. Carnio. An En- ergy Estimation Benchmark for Quantum Computers.Open Systems & Information Dynamics, 31(01):2450006, March 202","work_id":"4c4682af-0c37-487a-ad30-38a881d0984e","ref_index":4,"cited_arxiv_id":"","is_internal_anchor":false},{"doi":"","year":2025,"title":"Energetic analysis of emerging quantum communication protocols,","work_id":"8cd07b3c-0f59-4d5e-94ce-0d32f9a0405a","ref_index":5,"cited_arxiv_id":"","is_internal_anchor":false}],"resolved_work":184,"snapshot_sha256":"d5189903deead3b496e613e5d7711dcdd2d519feef1e51159337010a90d6f65d","internal_anchors":3},"formal_canon":{"evidence_count":2,"snapshot_sha256":"9c458dd98b5d18645880ff46c5892c6a9b9a49b3a23b202aab64ad22b551e941"},"author_claims":{"count":0,"strong_count":0,"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57"},"builder_version":"pith-number-builder-2026-05-17-v1"}