Sen. Tammy Duckworth landed in Japan early Wednesday on a trip aimed at bolstering Illinois’ relationships around quantum technology, supply chain and national security.
And a huge focus is beating China in the race to create a functioning quantum computer.
The trip marks Duckworth’s 12th trip to Asia and 14th congressional member delegation trip since 2018. Her trip began in South Korea with a meeting with SK Chairman Chey Tae-won, whose SK Group and its subsidiary companies announced plans to invest $52 billion in the U.S. in semiconductor, green energy and biotech projects.
Duckworth also visited U.S. military bases in South Korea and met with ship builders to discuss potential joint ventures to build and repair noncombatant vessels for the U.S. in the Indo-Pacific.
She described the meeting with SK as a “very rare opportunity.” The company, whose chairman has ties to Chicago and has already invested in Chicago businesses, is about to make a decision on where to invest in several projects, including in semiconductors, green energy and biotech.
“He’s made some investments in Indiana, at Purdue [University], but we’re going to try to see if we can’t get them to come back across the state border into Illinois,” Duckworth told the Chicago Sun-Times.
The senator described the trip as “running a relay race” between Gov. JB Pritzker’s team and her own when it comes to promoting Illinois in several sectors. Pritzker led a trade mission trip to Japan in October — and he’s made it a goal to make Illinois “the Silicon Valley of quantum development.”
“It’s about promoting the state and bringing real investments into Illinois that will continue to position us as a global leader in so many of these industries that are integral for the future, especially when it comes to things like quantum,” Duckworth said.
Part of the urgency of pushing for quantum is the race to beat China in developing the technology. Chinese media has reported advances on a quantum computer that is 10 times larger than previous systems. Duckworth said the U.S. is ahead, “but they’re catching up very quickly.”
“We can’t let the PRC get ahead of us. They cannot win this race. If they win this race, we would never be able to encrypt anything. We would never be able to keep intellectual property safe. We would never be able to keep national security safe, because they will break the codes before we can develop them. And so we cannot afford to lose this fight,” Duckworth said.
“Quantum is, yes, it’s business and it’s investments in Illinois, but it’s also critically important in terms of national security,” she said.
Duckworth also plans to meet with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which signed an agreement with Warwick Carbon Solutions/Broadwing Energy to establish a new natural gas-powered generation plant in Decatur.
She’ll also take part in a roundtable discussion with Quantum Strategic Industry Alliance for Revolution regarding Illinois’ booming quantum world. The organization was established to unite Japanese high-tech businesses and academic institutions to accelerate research development and commercialization of quantum technologies.
Duckworth will also hold a fireside chat with the Japanese Business Federation to connect with some of the country’s top businesses, including Subaru Corp.
Duckworth is traveling with U.S. Sen. Andy Kim, D-NJ; Intersect Illinois board member David Namkung; and Preeti Chalsani, chief quantum officer for Intersect Illinois.
“A lot of this is learning about what they’re doing, relationship-building, the U.S. and Illinois. Companies and research institutions have long-standing relationships with institutions in Korea, as well as in Japan. So this is a chance to further build on that relationship, with a view to see how we can work together to further our mutual interest in quantum,” Chalsani said in an interview from Japan. “So, [we’re] looking for common business opportunities and also letting them know about all of the new initiatives in Illinois around quantum.”
Chalsani said there’s hope that some of these discussions will lead to partnerships at the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park. Colorado-based Infleqtion is the latest company to join the South Side research and business facility. The quantum park is expected to break ground later this year.
Chalsani said the practical results of quantum research aren’t too far off, including quantum sensors that are being used as an alternative to GPS navigation.
“We’ve made many breakthroughs and many advances, and that has been done by companies who are choosing to be in Illinois, or who grow in Illinois, including Infleqtion and Diraq,” Chalsani said. “I think Illinois has been at the forefront and has been critical to many of these advances, which is why people are choosing to be here, because of this ecosystem and because of the networks that they would be in.”