Chicago announces ‘transformational’ quantum computer commercial development at fallow South Works site
In what could be a transformational development for Chicago, California-based tech company PsiQuantum is investing billions in the long-dormant South Works site in a quest to build the world’s first commercially viable quantum computer.
The project promises to boost Chicago as a leader in the nascent quantum computing field, while revitalizing the city’s Southeast Side, which has struggled economically since U.S. Steel closed its once massive plant more than 30 years ago.
Mayor Brandon Johnson, who met with top PsiQuantum executives several months ago to pitch the site and the city, said it is significant that a revolutionary new industry is set to spring up on grounds that built the material to create Chicago’s skyline during the last century.
“We were the first to shift the economy when steel was being used to grow industry,” Johnson told the Tribune. “Now here we are. I think it’s very fitting that Chicago is upfront and on the cutting edge of what it means to transform our global economy.”
The city and state worked together to lure PsiQuantum as the anchor tenant for a quantum computing park at the South Works site, which will also include a cryogenic cooling plant to be shared with other research partners. The quantum park is being developed by Chicago-based Related Midwest.
Backed by a robust academic ecosystem and hundreds of millions in federal, state and local funding, the advent of a dedicated commercial quantum park may help fulfill the region’s aspiration to become the Silicon Valley of quantum technology, a potentially game-changing advance in computing power.
“We intend to drive innovation on a history-altering scale and provide unprecedented economic opportunity for the people of this great city and state,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said at a news conference Thursday afternoon from the future home of the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park.
Founded in 2015, PsiQuantum’s stated mission is to “build and deploy the world’s first useful, large-scale quantum computer,” according to the Palo Alto firm’s website. Choosing Chicago as the place to develop it could bring $20 billion in economic impact, thousands of jobs and elevated technological standing to the city over the next decade, Johnson said.
The mayor also hopes it will dispel the reputation that the Johnson administration is not pro-business. Johnson pointed to a “Cut the Tape” initiative and a $1.25 billion bond passed by the City Council in April to fund economic development and affordable housing as catalysts for bringing PsiQuantum to Chicago.
“This is a clear signal to corporations around the world that development and the opportunity to grow is wide open,” Johnson said.
Pritzker also played a major role in attracting PsiQuantum to make Illinois its home, employing $500 million in the state’s 2025 budget for the development of the quantum park. That total includes $200 million for the buildout of the shared cryogenic cooling plant.
In addition, the state offered PsiQuantum $200 million in incentives for a minimum $1 billion investment and the creation of at least 150 jobs.
An emerging field, quantum technology operates at the subatomic level, building devices that detect, harness and leverage the tiniest particles to make potentially enormous advances in a wide range of applications. The University of Chicago has been at the forefront of the technology, helping the region become a leading global hub for quantum development and research.
Last year, the University of Chicago’s computing ambitions took a quantum leap forward with a commitment of $150 million in funding from IBM and Google to build the world’s most powerful computer, in partnership with the University of Tokyo. The project’s goal was to create a computer powered by 100,000 qubits — the basic unit of information in quantum computing. Early quantum computer prototypes are still in the hundreds of qubits.
David Awschalom, a professor of molecular engineering at the U. of C. and director of the Chicago Quantum Exchange, an academic research collaboration headquartered at the university, said Thursday’s announcement will accelerate innovation and further elevate the region into the Silicon Valley of quantum technology.
Founded in 2017, partners in the Chicago Quantum Exchange include the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne and Fermi laboratories, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Northwestern University and Purdue University.
“Illinois and this region of the country took the lead in quantum technology,” Awschalom said. “They have the workforce generation in this region and now with this announcement, have dedicated space for companies to set up manufacturing and fabrication facilities, and launch the endeavor here.”
PsiQuantum is in a race to commercialize the technology, and will serve as the anchor for the new Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park at the South Works site.
In April, PsiQuantum announced it would build its first utility-scale quantum computer in Brisbane, Australia, a parallel project that remains on track.
“Chicago is a world-class city with everything PsiQuantum was looking for when identifying a location to build our first utility-scale quantum computer in the United States, from top talent and research institutions to global connectivity and a strong infrastructure, and more,” Jeremy O’Brien, PsiQuantum CEO and co-founder, said in a news release Thursday.
Earlier this month, Pritzker announced another inaugural tenant for the site, the Quantum Proving Ground, a testing program in partnership with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, funded by matching $140 million state and federal grants.
Redeveloping the fallow South Works site and revitalizing the Southeast Side has been a priority for decades, but has yet to come to fruition.
The closing of the South Works plant, once the largest employer in Chicago and a major economic engine for the city’s Southeast Side, was a devastating blow to the area. At its peak in the 1940s, 20,000 employees worked at the plant each day. By its closing in April 1992, the plant was down to about 700 workers.
Since then, the 440-acre South Works lakefront site has been vacant and for sale, with several major development projects falling through — despite its designation as a tax increment financing district by the city.
In 2018, Irish developer Emerald Living walked away from its plan to build as many as 20,000 homes on the site. More recently, Chicago rapper Common and a group of real estate developers abandoned plans to convert the site into a movie production campus.
The former U.S. Steel site was remediated for soil contamination and has a green light for redevelopment from regulators. The city nonetheless plans to “work closely” with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to address any unforeseen issues that may arise during the buildout of the new quantum computing park.
While ground has yet to be broken, Johnson said breathing new life into the South Works site after more than three decades will be a testament to his administration’s commitment to economic development in the city.
“There have been starts and stops on the Southeast Side of Chicago for a very long time, where people made promises and didn’t keep them, or did not have the political strength or will or strong enough desire to actually carry it out,” Johnson said. “My administration is different. I said from the very beginning that we will invest in people, and that’s just what this does.”
