Quantum Computing applications for Agriculture
Quantum London directory of articles and information — agritech
Updated: 24 March 2023
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Quantum computing just might save the planet
McKinsey, May 2022
Twenty percent of annual greenhouse-gas emissions come from agriculture — and methane emitted by cattle and dairy is the primary contributor (7.9 gigatons of CO2e, based on 20-year global-warming potential).
Research has established that low-methane feed additives could effectively stop up to 90 percent of methane emissions. Yet applying those additives for free-range livestock is particularly difficult.
An alternative solution is an antimethane vaccine that produces methanogen-targeting antibodies. This method has had some success in lab conditions, but in a cow’s gut — churning with gastric juices and food — the antibodies struggle to latch on to the right microbes. Quantum computing could accelerate the research to find the right antibodies by precise molecule simulation instead of a costly and long trial-and-error method. With estimated uptake determined according to data from the US Environmental…
