# Q-CTRL reports a 3,000x speedup over classical tools on a 120-qubit materials simulation on IBM hardware

Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/stories/q-ctrl-reports-a-3-000x-speedup-over-classical-tools-on-a-120-qubit-2b9bc62d
Date: 6 May 2026
About: [Q-CTRL](https://technooptimist.io/companies/q-ctrl.md) · [Fire Opal](https://technooptimist.io/quantum/fire-opal.md)
Original source: https://q-ctrl.com/blog/q-ctrl-delivers-3-000x-speedup-in-materials-discovery-for-the-energy-sector-with-quantum-computing-and-demonstrates-evidence-of-practical-quantum-advantage

Q-CTRL used its error-suppression software on an IBM quantum computer to simulate interacting electrons in a material (a Fermi–Hubbard model), finishing in about two minutes; the best classical tool it tested needed over 3,000 times longer. Q-CTRL calls it evidence of practical quantum advantage, while noting that better classical algorithms or faster GPUs could narrow the gap.

## Key facts

- Circuit: 120 qubits and over 10,000 two-qubit gates.
- Classical comparison: the Flatiron Institute's TDVP tensor-network code, over 100 hours.
- The configuration is to reach Fire Opal users as a Simulation Solver and a Qiskit Function.
- Technical details: arXiv 2605.04025.

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