Municipal utility provider EPB has officially launched the IonQ Forte Enterprise trapped-ion quantum computer at the downtown EPB Quantum Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The deployment establishes the facility as the first commercial hub in the United States to integrate trapped-ion quantum processing units (#AQ 36) alongside photonics-based quantum networking infrastructure under a single operational roof.
Initial computational access is prioritized for the EPB Quantum Computing Fellows—an eight-member graduate research team supported by a $4 million National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) grant—to run algorithms designed to optimize circuit topologies, reduce power losses, and enhance resilience across EPB’s automated smart grid. Commercial service access, branded as EPB Quantum Computing℠, opens in early October 2026, with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) and Vanderbilt University serving as anchor academic clients.
| [ Chattanooga Quantum Infrastructure & Economic Ecosystem Matrix ] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Partner Entity | Facility / Investment Program | Operational Scope & Deliverables |
| IonQ | • $15 Million Investment • TN Quantum Communications Research Center | • On-premises #AQ 36 QPU deployment • Quantum research and engineering hiring |
| EPB, ORNL, NVIDIA, & IonQ | • Hybrid Quantum-Classical Computing Hub • On-Premises NVIDIA DGX Supercomputer | • Smart grid circuit loss minimization • High-performance hybrid algorithm testing |
| Vanderbilt University & UTC | • Institute for Quantum Innovation • Academic & Workforce Expansion | • 250+ researchers at Vanderbilt campus • UTC quantum network research node |
The hardware launch is accompanied by regional workforce and academic initiatives, including the Energy and Quantum Industries Academy at the Franklin-Roberts Future Ready Center (targeting 400 high school students annually by 2028) and the state-piloted TN QuantumWorks K–12 curriculum. EPB will also host the Quantum in Business (QiB) conference on October 1 to demonstrate commercial QPU and quantum network integration for logistics, manufacturing, finance, and energy sectors.
Review the news release via PR Newswire here, access center specifications at EPB Quantum Computing here, watch the video announcement on YouTube here, examine our analysis of EPB’s $4 Million NIST Quantum Fellowship Launch here, and explore our previous coverage of EPB’s Hybrid Computing Integration with NVIDIA and ORNL here.
September 18, 2026
