Quantum Scale: Building the Manufacturing Foundations for a Computing Revolution

Quantum computing needs a manufacturing foundation

Quantum computing has the potential to transform complex computing across sectors including pharmaceuticals and healthcare, manufacturing and finance. But moving from a working laboratory device to thousands of reliable, repeatable systems presents a very different challenge.

For quantum hardware manufacturers, the question is no longer simply whether a device works. It is whether thousands of devices can be produced, measured and operated consistently at scale.

That is the challenge Akkodis specialists are helping quantum hardware specialist Sparrow Quantum address.

It’s one thing to make a single device function in a lab. It’s something entirely different to make thousands of them behave identically, reliably, and at scale,

Vice Rončević, Digital Manufacturing Engineer and Consultant at Akkodis in Denmark.

Scaling quantum hardware requires precision

Sparrow Quantum develops single-photon source chips, tiny devices that emit individual photons and are an important component of quantum technologies.

Their production and operation require extreme precision. Each chip is cooled to around −270°C, placed in a vacuum and precisely targeted by a laser tuned to specific parameters.

The challenge is that individual devices can behave differently. "You can't just say every chip will work at the same voltage or wavelength. You have to measure, calibrate, and adapt for each one," Rončević explains.

This changes the role of digital technology in manufacturing.

In conventional production, digital systems often support activities such as production tracking, logistics and quality monitoring. For quantum hardware, the digital layer increasingly becomes part of the product and manufacturing architecture itself.

"A system like this can't exist without a digital layer. It's not optional, it's a sheer necessity. It's woven into the architecture."

A system like this can’t exist without a digital layer. It’s not optional, it’s a sheer necessity. It’s woven into the architecture.

Turning quantum data into a scalable architecture

Quantum hardware generates large amounts of highly specialized data. Measurements can cover everything from nanostructure characteristics and optical alignment to real-time photon outputs.

This information needs to move between physicists, researchers, engineers and business teams while remaining secure, accessible and structured.

The challenge is therefore not simply collecting data. It is creating an architecture that connects research, engineering and business activities as the organization grows. At Sparrow Quantum, Akkodis is advising on how data flows can be structured across the architecture, including different user groups and access levels.

A scalable data architecture must support:

• Secure access and information flows
• Different teams and levels of responsibility
• Future organizational growth
• Research and engineering collaboration
• Integration of new technologies and systems

For a rapidly developing quantum business, this digital foundation is critical to turning experimental data into usable engineering knowledge.

Designing quantum manufacturing for repeatability

Repeatability is fundamental to modern manufacturing: the ability to produce consistent results within defined tolerances.

For quantum hardware, the requirement is even more demanding. Manufacturing and software systems need to make errors controlled, traceable and minimized.

This requires a strong focus on:

• Modular architectures
• Clearly defined interfaces
• Rigorous documentation
• Independent testing
• Traceable processes
• Reusable software components

Sparrow Quantum is applying these principles to its software and infrastructure, creating modular components that can be tested independently, integrated and replaced as systems evolve.

The objective is to create a manufacturing and digital environment that can evolve without requiring the entire system to be redesigned.

Supporting research and customer-ready systems

Quantum technology companies face a particular challenge: they must innovate continuously while simultaneously delivering reliable systems to customers. Research teams may be experimenting with new configurations, materials and techniques, while product teams need stable and repeatable solutions.

The underlying manufacturing and software infrastructure has to support both. "Sparrow's teams are designing the scaffolding. My role is to advise on how that structure can support both stable customer-ready systems and the flexibility needed for new experiments," says Rončević.

Modularity is key.

Interchangeable building blocks allow teams to introduce new technologies or experimental configurations without disrupting established workflows.

Quantum experiments can involve complex optical systems, cryogenic environments and specialized measurement equipment.

One example is a time tagger, which records photon events with extremely high precision, helping researchers determine whether an experimental setup is performing as expected.

From experimental data to meaningful insights

Advanced quantum experiments can generate highly valuable data, but that value depends on the infrastructure available to process and interpret it. High-speed data pipelines, reliable software and well-designed interfaces help researchers extract meaningful insights from experimental results.

Without this digital foundation, even sophisticated experiments can become difficult to analyze, reproduce or integrate into future development.

The quality of the underlying infrastructure therefore directly influences how quickly quantum technologies can evolve.

Quantum computing is also an engineering challenge

The future of quantum computing will depend on scientific breakthroughs. But turning those breakthroughs into scalable technology requires much more than physics.

Quantum computing isn’t just a physics problem,” says Rončević. “It’s an engineering problem, a systems problem, and a manufacturing problem all at once.

Scaling quantum technology therefore requires the convergence of quantum science, manufacturing engineering, software, data architecture and systems engineering. The organizations that can build this foundation will be better positioned to move quantum technologies from experimental environments toward reliable, scalable and customer-ready systems.

For quantum computing, the next breakthrough may come from science. But turning that breakthrough into a scalable technology will depend on the systems built around it.

Akkodis combines engineering, digital manufacturing, software and systems expertise to help emerging technology companies build the industrial and digital foundations