Quantum computing campus coming to Chicago's vacant U.S. Steel South Works site
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The long-vacant U.S. Steel South Works site on the Far South Side will be transformed into a massive quantum computing campus.
City and state officials announced Thursday that PsiQuantum will build the new Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, which would be home to the world's first commercially useful quantum computer.
"This monumental project will revolutionize entire industries from medicine to clean energy technology, creating countless jobs and driving economic growth in the process. Together, we are solidifying Chicago's place as a global hub for technological advancement," Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a statement.
Officials estimated the campus would have a $20 billion economic impact over the next 10 years, including hundreds of construction jobs, and 250 permanent jobs on the quantum computing campus once complete. Officials also estimated the facility would contribute to 175,000 new quantum computing-related jobs in the Chicago area over the next decade.
The Pritzker administration is providing a total of $500 million in the 2025 state budget for the development of the quantum park, including $200 million in financial incentives for the project, in exchange for a minimum investment of $1.09 billion by PsiQuantum.
Another $200 million from the state will go to construction of a cryogenic cooling plant for the quantum computer. Officials said the 500-acre South Works site's proximity to Lake Michigan and the Calumet River will provide the water needed for cooling.
"Our vision of Illinois as a global quantum capital comes further into focus at Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, providing limitless opportunities for economic investment and innovation right here on the South Side," Pritzker said in a statement.
The old U.S. Steel South Works plant on the Far South Side closed in 1992 due to nationwide shifts in the steel industry. City officials once envisioned a massive residential and commercial development project for the site in 2010, but the project never came to fruition and the site has remained vacant.
