A historic site that once housed U.S. Steel’s South Works plant on the shores of Lake Michigan will now be home to a transformational manufacturing investment that will position Chicago, and the state of Illinois, as a technological leader in the 21st Century — and beyond.
The Chamber is excited to stand in strong support and partnership of today’s announcement of this $20 billion public-private quantum venture, which will create a world-class quantum campus on Chicago’s Southeast Side. This facility will represent a significant step forward for the Chicago and Illinois business communities, as quantum will revolutionize nearly every sector of our global economy, including bio-pharmaceuticals, energy, finance, and transportation.
Not only will this project help the Chicagoland area promote a pro-growth economic climate, but it will also create once-in-a-lifetime economic growth for an area of Chicago that has long struggled to attract and retain industry.
In short: This is a game-changer.
The Chamber applauds Governor J.B. Pritzker’s unmatched leadership of this venture, as well as the efforts of Mayor Brandon Johnson and the private sector partners who have been instrumental in making today’s project announcement a reality.
The Project
In a fitting metaphor for Illinois’ relentless drive toward innovation, the quantum campus will be located on the former site of one of world’s largest steel mills. These types of manufacturing plants put the Southeast Side of Chicago at the forefront of the industrial age in the late 19th Century, and now that history has come full circle.
PsiQuantum, in partnership with government partners at the State of Illinois, Cook County, and the city of Chicago, as well as private partners at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the University of Chicago, the Chicago Quantum Exchange, Argonne, and Fermi national labs, and the U.S. Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Project Agency, has announced a $20 billion investment that will establish their quantum campus covering 300,000 square feet, employing up to 150 people within 5 years, in addition to employing many more indirect job opportunities in the area.
In conjunction with PsiQuantum’s investment, local and state governments have pledged significant assistance to the larger quantum campus, including a $500 million capital appropriation approved by the Illinois General Assembly earlier this year in the FY2025 budget that will further build upon PsiQuantum’s project and continue developing a world-class “Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park.”
PsiQuantum has also agreed on an incentive package that will provide $500 million over 30 years to enable the company to create a Quantum Computing Operations Center. Additionally, the company has committed to partner with civic and government leaders in growing a world-class workforce of the future that will help invest in programming, curriculum, and workforce development initiatives to further establish the region as a talent leader in the quantum computing space.
Once completed, the project is poised to build the first utility-scale quantum computer in the country.
Background
The Chamber was proud to have introduced and helped support the passage of truly forward-thinking legislation supporting quantum information science investment in the State of Illinois. In the 2023 and 2024 legislative sessions in Springfield, the Chamber introduced HB 4766 and SB 3474 (and similar initiatives in 2023), with the help of our legislative champions then Rep. Mark Walker and Sen. Elgie Sims, respectively. The legislation encouraged the creation of quantum R&D tax incentives. The Illinois General Assembly ultimately would include quantum-specific incentives in the FY2025 Business Development legislative package, which Governor Pritzker signed into law in June of this year to create Public Act 103-595. In addition, the Chamber was pleased to see and help support Governor Pritzker’s forward-thinking investment found in the FY2025 budget that helped attract the massive project that has been announced today.
Moving forward, the Chamber will continue to partner with the Pritzker and Johnson administrations, Chamber members, and our many partners like the Chicago Quantum Exchange, national laboratories, and world-class universities to further grow and strengthen our quantum ecosystem.
It is now paramount to leverage the region’s most diverse economy in the country to develop and commercialize quantum end-uses. In addition to supporting this project and the development of a campus, we will continue to support quantum start-ups, while working to attract companies engaging in quantum activities to our region. Policy issues on the horizon will be related to growing and supporting a diverse quantum workforce, and ensuring a fair pro-growth energy, technology and regulatory environment capable of building on today’s historic announcement.
Chamber’s Statement
“We thank PsiQuantum for betting big on the Chicagoland region and Illinois and applaud Governor Pritzker for his vision and pursuit of the quantum opportunity before us that is now becoming a reality. Today’s announcement firmly puts Illinois on the path to becoming a premier global hub for quantum technologies and a global leader in what will be one of the most consequential technological developments of the 21st century. With changes in technology revolutionizing every aspect of our economy, now is the time to continue to support and invest in forward-looking ventures like quantum that will bring jobs and economic growth to communities across the state. Thanks to recent investments in quantum campus development and research and development tools, along with Illinois’ unparalleled facilities and research institutions and our talented and diverse workforce, Illinois is well-positioned to support the project announced today and others we hope to come. We look forward to working with Governor Pritzker, Mayor Johnson, PsiQuantum, and our many partners to continue to bolster Illinois’ economy through investments in high-growth industries.”
-Jack Lavin, President & CEO, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce
Media Coverage
Crains: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/technology/illinois-massive-quantum-computing-plan-goes-south-works
Chicago Tribune: https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/07/25/chicago-quantum-computer-development/
Chicago Sun-Times: https://chicago.suntimes.com/technology/2024/07/25/psiquantum-steel-south-works-quantum-computer-johnson-darpa
Block Club Chicago: https://blockclubchicago.org/2024/07/25/former-south-works-site-to-host-quantum-computing-campus-psiquantum/