Hari P. Paudel, Scott E. Crawford, Gary R. Lander, Matthew M. Brister, Jeffrey Wuenschell, Michael Buric, Ruishu Feng Wright, Benjamin Chorpening, Yuhua Duan
Quantum sensing is creating potentially transformative opportunities to exploit intricate quantum mechanical phenomena in new ways to make ultrasensitive measurements of multiple parameters. A growing interest in quantum sensing has created opportunities for its deployment to improve processes pertaining to energy production, distribution, and consumption. NETL is leveraging experimental and computational quantum tools to enhance sensitivity of hybrid quantum-classical ultrasensitive sensors for the detection of hydrocarbons and rare earth elements (REEs).
Quantum sensing is creating potentially transformative opportunities to exploit intricate quantum mechanical phenomena in new ways to make ultrasensitive measurements of multiple parameters. A growing interest in quantum sensing has created opportunities for its deployment to improve processes pertaining to energy production, distribution, and consumption. NETL is leveraging experimental and computational quantum tools to enhance sensitivity of hybrid quantum-classical ultrasensitive sensors for the detection of hydrocarbons and rare earth elements (REEs).
Abstract On its revolutionary threshold, quantum sensing is creating potentially transformative opportunities to exploit intricate quantum mechanical phenomena in new ways to make ultrasensitive measurements of multiple parameters. Concurrently, growing interest in quantum sensing has created opportunities for its deployment to improve processes pertaining to energy production, distribution, and consumption. Safe and secure utilization of energy is dependent upon addressing challenges related to material stability and function, secure monitoring of infrastructure, and accuracy in detection and measurement. A summary of well‐established and emerging quantum sensing materials and techniques, as well as the corresponding sensing platforms that have been developed for their deployment is provided here. Specifically, the enhancement of existing advanced sensing technologies with quantum methods and materials is focused on, enabling the realization of an unprecedented level of sensitivity, placing an emphasis on relevance to the energy industry. The review concludes with a discussion on high‐value applications of quantum sensing to the energy sector, as well as remaining barriers to sensor deployment.
Quantum electronic sensing (QES), on the cusp of a revolution, is opening up new, possibly cutting-edge possibilities to take advantage of complex quantum mechanical variables to make incredibly sensitive assessments of an array of parameters. Concurrently, there are now prospects for quantum sensing to be used to enhance the processes involved in creating, distributing, and utilizing energy. To use the technology carefully and efficiently, it is necessary to handle issues with material stability and operation, reliable monitoring, and precision in sensing and assessment. Here is an overview of existing and new quantum sensing materials and methods, along with the related sensing frameworks that have been created to support their use. Regarding advanced sensing technologies specifically, the realization of a previously unheard-of degree of sensitivity is made possible using quantum methods and materials. The review's discussion of high-value implementations of quantum sensing in the bio-electronics industry and the still-existing impediments to sensor deployment wrap up the review. More specifically, we address how quantum sensing materials may lead to greater efficiency while highlighting established and developing quantum sensing methods, materials, and sensing platforms. The discussion of potential chances to implement quantum technologies follows a summary of the remaining obstacles and difficulties for quantum sensor deployment.
The energy sector has become increasingly dependent upon highly sensitive sensing devices for a wide range of applications. Variables such as temperature, pH, electromagnetic fields, ions, and pressure must be measured with high precision, often in harsh conditions (e.g. highly corrosive environments due to high temperature, pressure and humidity). These sensors are deployed in infrastructure such as transformers, pipelines, mines, nuclear power plants, and other areas to ensure safe operating conditions and uninterrupted, optimized service. Moreover, new opportunities for sensors have emerged due to the expansion of smart grids/meters, driverless vehicles, and the discovery of new oil, gas, and critical mineral deposits. The continued maturation of quantum sensing technologies offers exciting opportunities for quantum-enhanced measurements within the energy sector that may provide significant improvements in sensitivity beyond the classical limit. Here, an overview of established and emerging quantum materials for sensing applications will be provided, from trapped ions to color centers in diamond and silicon carbide. Associated quantum sensing methods for these materials will be discussed, with an emphasis on platforms that are nearing commercial viability. Specific application opportunities within the energy sector for quantum sensors will then be analyzed, including oil/gas discovery, greenhouse gas emission monitoring, pH and ion sensing, current measurement in electric vehicle batteries, and quantum-enhanced spectroscopy. Remaining barriers, such as quantum sensor platform miniaturization and ruggedization, will also be analyzed. A specific project at the National Energy Technology Laboratory involving the functionalization of qubits using metal-organic frameworks for enhanced quantum sensing will also be highlighted. Here, nitrogen vacancy centers (NV) in nanodiamonds, a commercially available qubit with long coherence times and utilizable quantum properties at room temperature, are encapsulated in a controlled way using the metal-organic framework ZIF-8. The ZIF-8 provides a well-defined, porous scaffold that can be controlled to promote the selective uptake of specific target analytes, such as gas molecules or ions. The quantum sensing performance of this composite material is either preserved or enhanced following ZIF-8 encapsulation; the optically detected magnetic resonance response of the NV nanodiamonds with and without the ZIF-8 coating are identical, while the ZIF-8 coating increases the longitudinal spin relaxation lifetime (T1) of the NV centers, an important parameter for spin relaxometry-based quantum sensing experiments. Taken together, these results demonstrate the importance of qubit functionalization as a crucial step for rationally designing high performance quantum sensors.
Quantum sensing is a quantum technology for ultrasensitive detection, which is particularly useful for sensing weak signals at the nanoscale. Nitrogen vacancy centers in diamond, thanks to their superb quantum coherence under ambient conditions and the stability of the material in extreme and complicated environments, have been demonstrated as promising quantum probes in multi-parameter sensing. Their spin properties make them particularly sensitive to magnetic fields, but they are insensitive to temperature, electric field, pressure, etc., and even immune to some bio-parameters (e.g., pH and glucose concentration). Recently, hybrid quantum sensing has emerged as a promising avenue for further enhancing the capabilities of diamond sensors. Different techniques can potentially improve the sensitivity, range of detectable parameters, and sensing frequencies of diamond sensors. This review provides an overview of hybrid quantum sensing using diamond. We first give a brief introduction to quantum sensing using diamond, and then review various hybrid sensing schemes that have been developed to enhance the sensing capabilities of diamond sensors. Finally, the potential applications and challenges associated with hybrid quantum sensing in diamond are discussed.
Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in understating the limitations imposed by quantum noise in precision measurements and devising techniques to reduce it. The attention is currently turning to the simultaneously estimation of several parameters of interest, driven by its promising potential across a wide range of sensing applications as well as fueled by experimental progress in various optical and atomic platforms. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of key research directions in multiparameter quantum sensing and metrology, highlighting both opportunities and challenges. We introduce the basic framework, discuss ultimate sensitivity bounds, optimal measurement strategies, and the role of quantum incompatibility, showing important differences with respect to single-parameter estimation. Additionally, we discuss emerging experimental implementations in distributed quantum sensing, including cutting-edge optimization techniques. This review aims to bridge the gap between theory and experiments, paving the way for the next-generation of quantum sensors and their integration with other quantum technologies.
Quantum computing and simulations are creating transformative opportunities by exploiting the principles of quantum mechanics in new ways to generate and process information. It is expected that a variety of areas ranging from day-to-day activities to making advanced scientific discoveries are going to benefit from such computations. Several early-stage applications of quantum computing and simulation have already been demonstrated, and these preliminary results show that quantum computing and simulations could significantly accelerate the deployment of new technologies urgently needed to meet the growing demand for energy while safeguarding the environment. Exciting examples include developing new materials such as alloys, catalysts, oxygen carriers, CO2 sorbents/solvents, and energy storage materials; optimizing traffic flows and energy supply chains; locating energy generation facilities such as wind and solar farms, and fossil and nuclear power plants; designing pipeline networks for transporting hydrogen, natural gas, and CO2; and speeding up tasks such as seismic imaging and inversion, reservoir simulation, and computational fluid dynamics. In this review, we introduce different aspects of quantum computing and simulations and discuss the status of theoretical and experimental approaches. We then specifically highlight growing number of application areas in the energy sector. We conclude by providing an analysis of high-value application directions to address energy sector challenges.