1001 Smart Cities
🇺🇸 Chattanooga

EPB Quantum Network Infrastructure

🤖 AI-generated summary · ◆ 6 sourced claims · 🔎 Last verified

This overview was generated with AI from the public sources listed below and checked against them before publication. It has not had a complete human fact-check — treat it as a starting point and follow the sources.

6 sourced claims on this page, none individually verified yet — turn on “Sources in the text” to see each one.

How this atlas is made · What “last verified” means · What “source-checked” means · The full record behind this page

Chattanooga's utility turned its own substation fiber into a commercial quantum network in 2022, out of a 2015 grid-security project — then IonQ bought the partner and put a quantum computer on site.

Outcome🔄 Ongoing
Evidence🏛️ Officialgrades the sourcing — this entry states no impact figure
what does this mean?The strongest source is the operator's or the city's own reporting — an official report, dataset or press release. It grades who did the looking — not how well the project went. All four grades →
Run byEPB (Electric Power Board of Chattanooga), with IonQ as network/quantum-computing partner since the Qubitekk acquisition
Scale🏙️ City-wide

Part of 1001 Smart Cities — 1,167 documented projects · 🏙️ 1 more in Chattanooga · 📶 Connectivity & 5G guide · 📡 Data & IoT projects

EPB and Qubitekk's Quantum Network launched November 2022 on EPB's substation fiber loops, growing out of a 2015 DOE-funded grid-security partnership with Oak Ridge and Los Alamos national labs. It offers entangled-photon and QKD cryptography infrastructure to researchers and companies; IonQ announced a definitive agreement to acquire Qubitekk on 6 November 2024 and is building an on-site quantum-computing center with EPB, which EPB targeted for commissioning in early 2026; no listed source says whether it has been commissioned.

Live 📅 since 2022
📡 Data & IoTConnectivity & 5GSmart grid & energy

Sources

↗ EPB (operator)Published 29 November 2022Original launch announcement: Bohr IV entangled-photon/QKD system, 2015 DOE-funded origin with Oak Ridge and Los Alamos national labs.
↗ The Quantum Insider (trade)Published 1 December 2022Independent trade-press coverage of the 2022 launch.
↗ IonQ investor release, 6 Nov 2024IonQ's agreement to acquire Qubitekk's operating assets (~$22.1M, closed 27 Dec 2024).
↗ EPB, 25 April 2025EPB and IonQ partnership to build the EPB Quantum Center (IonQ Forte Enterprise system), commissioning targeted for early 2026.

📅 How old is the evidence?

Two clocks, kept apart: when this entry’s sources were published, and what has happened to its record in the atlas. Documented span: since 2022. 4 of 4 sources carry a publication date, from 29 November 2022 to 25 April 2025.

When the sources were published

  1. EPB — Electric Power Board of Chattanooga · utilityEPB (operator)
  2. The Quantum Insider · pressThe Quantum Insider (trade)
  3. IonQ · vendorIonQ investor release, 6 Nov 2024
  4. EPB — Electric Power Board of Chattanooga · utilityEPB, 25 April 2025

Every source, with links ↑

What happened to this record

  1. Sources last read
  2. Entered the record

Every revision, permanent →

Show your work What this page rests on and what it can’t tell you · all 6 claims with their sources · the forensic record

Evidence Passport · public beta 6 addressable claims, 4 source dossiers, one permanent baseline. The passport is unreviewed — an AI-assisted structural migration, not a human or expert endorsement. Every revision keeps a permanent copy under revision history.

Inspect the claims, one by one — verbatim text, sources and caveats for all 6

The text below is copied verbatim from the published record. Each claim names the source dossiers that carry it; caveats stay attached to the claim they qualify.

Claim 1 clm-2dab8ef37190614b quantitative
EPB and Qubitekk's Quantum Network launched November 2022 on EPB's substation fiber loops
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
EPB's own launch release (dated 29 November 2022) states: 'EPB and Qubitekk are already utilizing EPB Quantum Network to share quantum states between two Quantum Equipment Hubs over a commercial fiber optic network' built on 'real-world fiber optic loops that EPB established between some of its electric substations.' The Quantum Insider's independent trade-press coverage (1 December 2022) confirms the same launch, though it is largely a republished version of the press release with minimal independent reporting added.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. EPB (operator)
  2. The Quantum Insider (trade)
Claim 2 clm-ab666b7e195392f8 quantitative
growing out of a 2015 DOE-funded grid-security partnership with Oak Ridge and Los Alamos national labs
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
EPB's own release states this exactly, naming the year and both national laboratories: 'With U.S. Department of Energy funding aimed at securing America's electric grid against cyberthreats, EPB, Qubitekk, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory partnered starting in 2015 to run quantum encryption technologies across real-world fiber optic loops...' A cross-check against independent search results corroborates 2015 as the start year and adds that a related 'Quantum Ensured Defense of the Smart Electric Grid' effort beginning in 2016 won a 2021 R&D 100 Award -- a later, separate milestone, not the partnership's start date.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. EPB (operator)
Claim 3 clm-40c09c1b430b91d4 descriptive
It offers entangled-photon and QKD cryptography infrastructure to researchers and companies
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
Both sources describe the underlying photon-entanglement technique -- EPB's release explains that 'a pair of light particles (photons) can be linked or "entangled" such that any change in one of the photons is instantly mirrored by its twin even when they are separated by great distances' -- and both name the intended audience as 'private companies as well as government and university researchers.' Neither source uses the acronym 'QKD' verbatim; both call it 'quantum encryption technologies,' which is the same underlying technique (entangled photons used for secure key exchange) usually labelled QKD.
Caveat
Both sources describe an offering and an intended audience, not a documented count of active users. Neither of the two cited sources names an actual customer or usage figure, and neither uses the specific term 'QKD.' (Later trade-press coverage from December 2023, not among this entry's sources, names a single early customer running validation tests -- that is not reflected here.)

Sources carrying this claim

  1. EPB (operator)
  2. The Quantum Insider (trade)
Claim 4 clm-4e05117ef51af6b9 quantitative
IonQ announced a definitive agreement to acquire Qubitekk on 6 November 2024
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The cited release, dated 6 November 2024, announces that IonQ 'has reached a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all of the operating assets of Qubitekk, Inc.' and states IonQ 'anticipates closing the acquisition within the next six months, subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions.' It does not name a purchase price.
Caveat
This source documents only an announced definitive agreement (6 November 2024) and an anticipated closing window of up to about six months; it does not itself state that the acquisition closed in December 2024, and it names no purchase price. The entry's present-tense claim of a December 2024 acquisition is not confirmed by any of this entry's four listed sources.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. IonQ investor release, 6 Nov 2024
Claim 5 clm-d625fd6205156c95 descriptive
is building an on-site quantum-computing center with EPB
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
EPB's 25 April 2025 release announces the EPB Quantum Center partnership with IonQ, describing the IonQ Forte Enterprise system that will be installed at the facility as 'an equally shared resource' between EPB and IonQ, with IonQ establishing an office in Chattanooga to support it.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. EPB, 25 April 2025
Claim 6 clm-4b97b46a3cc6751d quantitative
EPB targeted for commissioning in early 2026
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
EPB's release states the target directly: 'EPB and IonQ expect to complete the build-out and commissioning of the EPB Quantum Center by early 2026.'
Caveat
This is a stated target as of April 2025, not a confirmed completion date. As of this entry's last verification (2 August 2026) -- well after the target had passed -- none of the entry's four sources confirms that commissioning actually happened. Newer EPB material found during this review (an August 2026 release, not among this entry's sources) still describes the Forte Enterprise system as 'being prepared for commercial deployment' rather than as commissioned or operating, suggesting the early-2026 target had slipped.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. EPB, 25 April 2025
Forensic record — source dossiers, gaps, hashes and the exact revision this page renders

This layer records what is known about each source, what is still missing, and the exact snapshot this page is rendering. A missing date, archive or hash stays visible as missing.

unreviewed Revision 2026-08-22-evidence-baseline effective 2026-08-02 · created 2026-08-22

Awaiting operator and domain-expert review; publication of this revision implies neither.

sha256:92b2c0003921db663435cc37822121e5de8c6682a885f1dfaa90255a6255a3ef
Revision history → Permanent version link → Machine-readable record → Evidence Constitution →
6
of 6 claims mapped
4
source dossiers
4
publication dates recorded
0
archives linked
0
exact locators
0
content captures hashed

Governance facts carried by the record

Operator
EPB (Electric Power Board of Chattanooga), with IonQ as network/quantum-computing partner since the Qubitekk acquisition
Actor types
utility, private
Funding model
mixed
Funding description
Not recorded
Cost
Not recorded
Ownership
Not recorded
Decision rights
Not recorded
Exit conditions
Not recorded

4 source dossiers

EPB (operator) epb.com · 3 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-8d57050491a3a3b5
Publisher
Name not classified · epb.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2022-11-29
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-02
Dossier created
2026-08-22
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Original launch announcement: Bohr IV entangled-photon/QKD system, 2015 DOE-funded origin with Oak Ridge and Los Alamos national labs.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
The Quantum Insider (trade) thequantuminsider.com · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-ebf98bfa9c1b9b4f
Publisher
Name not classified · thequantuminsider.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2022-12-01
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-02
Dossier created
2026-08-22
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Independent trade-press coverage of the 2022 launch.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
IonQ investor release, 6 Nov 2024 investors.ionq.com · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-0dfd681ff8000215
Publisher
Name not classified · investors.ionq.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2024-11-06
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-02
Dossier created
2026-08-22
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

IonQ's agreement to acquire Qubitekk's operating assets (~$22.1M, closed 27 Dec 2024).

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
EPB, 25 April 2025 epb.com · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-12f7616a7f817391
Publisher
Name not classified · epb.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2025-04-25
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-02
Dossier created
2026-08-22
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

EPB and IonQ partnership to build the EPB Quantum Center (IonQ Forte Enterprise system), commissioning targeted for early 2026.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Known limits of this passport
  • Publisher names and source languages have not yet been classified; domains are recorded without guessing.
  • Existing source notes are descriptive locators, not page- or paragraph-exact citations.
  • A missing archive, publication date or content hash is shown as null rather than inferred.
  • The project-level evidence grade ranks the strongest source in the entry; it is not a truth score for every claim.

Continue exploring

Compare this project

🇺🇸 EPB Gig City — Fiber-Optic Smart Grid & Community Broadband · Chattanooga Runs on the substation fibre this grid built: the quantum network is a research layer added to EPB's own city-owned backbone. 🇺🇸 Austin Energy SHINES: Solar-Storage Grid Management Pilot · Austin Same DOE-funded pattern: a city-owned utility hosting federally backed grid research that produced infrastructure, not a product.

Explore the wider context

🏙️ Urban digital twins compared📖 Building performance standard (BPS)📖 District heating📖 Fuel cell
📎 Cite this project

1001 Smart Cities (2026). “EPB Quantum Network Infrastructure” — Chattanooga, United States. The Smart City Atlas. https://1001smartcities.org/projects/chattanooga-quantum-grid/ (last verified 2026-08-02). Data: CC BY 4.0.

The underlying data is free to reuse with attribution — see the open data page.

🚩 Report an error · 🔔 Follow changes to this entry (RSS)

✉️ Get the next source-checked smart-city project in your inbox

One short email a week: the Landmark, one Insight, the new cities. No spam, one-click unsubscribe. About the newsletter · RSS