World’s first superconducting quantum heat engine could help unlock massive quantum computers

Scientists have built a tiny superconducting heat engine that turns quantum-scale heat into useful work—and could help make massive quantum computers far easier to build. Date: August 14, 2026 Source: Aalto University Summary: A tiny superconducting engine has successfully converted heat near absolute zero into useful work, demonstrating the first cyclic quantum heat engine of its kind. Future versions could operate autonomously inside quantum computers, potentially eliminating huge numbers of costly, noise-producing microwave cables. Share: Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email FULL STORY Artistic impression of a superconducting quantum heat engine. Credit: Heikka Valja / Aalto University A newly developed superconducting quantum heat engine could deepen our understanding of thermodynamics while helping advance technologies needed for quantum computers with very large numbers of qubits. Scientists are getting a clearer picture of how thermodynamics behaves in the quantum world, and that progress could benefit both quantum technology and our understanding of familiar thermodynamic principles. Researchers at Aalto University have now taken an important step a superconducting circuit. The experiment connects two areas of physics that normally describe very different scales. Quantum mechanics explains the behavior of matter at extremely small scales, even below the size of atoms, while thermodynamics describes how heat and energy behave in much larger systems, from collections of molecules to the universe itself. Bringing the two together raises a fundamental question: what happens to familiar thermodynamic processes when quantum effects such as tunneling, entanglement, and superposition enter the picture? A Heat Engine Built for the Quantum World Conventional heat engines turn heat into useful work. James Watt's steam engine is one famous example, but the same basic concept remains central to modern transportation and electricity production, powering cars, ships, planes and many power plants. The researchers have now created the world's first superconducting quantum heat engine. The extremely small device combines a transmon qubit, a resonator and a quantum refrigerator. Operating under ultracold quantum conditions, the engine was able to use the tiny amount of available heat to repeatedly produce positive work. Achieving this kind of cyclic operation has been an important objective for researchers working on quantum heat engines. The result provides a proof of concept for superconducting heat engines that could eventually contribute to improved quantum computing technology. The study, led Möttönen, was published in Nature Communications. Recreating an Otto Cycle Near Absolute Zero To make the engine operate, the researchers reproduced an Otto cycle inside a superconducting circuit.