QAL at AQMCSE 2026

For QAL, these projects reflect an emerging trend among end-users and across the corporate sector. Conversations are increasingly moving beyond the question of ‘What is quantum and what could quantum computers do?’ towards ‘How can quantum computing create measurable value in real operational environments?’

Redefining quantum advantage in practice

A recurring theme throughout the conference was the growing focus on practical performance evaluation and benchmarking. As many quantum approaches are highly novel, their value can often only be meaningfully assessed at the end-to-end application level rather than through isolated algorithmic metrics. This prompted insightful discussions on how to balance solution quality, computational time, and cost when determining what constitutes the most effective solution in a real-world setting.

These discussions also reflected a broader shift in how the role of quantum computing is being viewed. Rather than focusing primarily on the long-term promise of fault-tolerant quantum computers with significantly larger qubit counts, the conversation was grounded in current high-performance computing challenges and practical deployment opportunities. There was strong emphasis on integrating quantum technologies into existing computational workflows, where they can act as accelerators for specific tasks and deliver tangible value well before large-scale fault-tolerant quantum computers become available.

Learning where quantum delivers value

QAL’s recent research into hybrid quantum-classical approaches for vehicle routing problems highlights an important aspect of quantum application development: not every optimization problem that can be formulated for quantum hardware will necessarily benefit from it. In this study, researchers embedded quantum solvers into a column generation framework for battery-constrained vehicle routing and found that the quantum component did not outperform leading classical approaches.

Far from being a setback, such results help sharpen our understanding of where quantum computing can create value. By identifying structural characteristics that limit potential advantage, our growing community for quantum applications can focus development efforts on areas where quantum resources are more likely to deliver meaningful performance gains.

At QAL, we believe that building practical applications, validating business cases, and working closely with industry partners are essential steps in turning quantum potential into impact. This philosophy is at the heart of everything the Quantum Application Lab does, from agriculture and logistics to healthcare and the energy sector.