Kolon Benit eyes quantum computing applications in industrial settings

Kolon Benit is moving to explore the potential of quantum technology in industrial settings while stepping up efforts to cultivate quantum talent.

The company announced Thursday that it participated in the quantum computing hackathon "Quantum Reframing Challenge 2026" (QRC 2026).

QRC 2026 was co-hosted and organized by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI) and Megazone Cloud. The event was part of a government research and development project — "Building a Quantum Computing Service and Utilization Framework" — involving the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea.

Participants at QRC 2026 sought ways to solve complex industrial problems using quantum computing. They used generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini, along with global quantum hardware and simulators — including IonQ and Pascal provided through KISTI — to develop proposals and verify performance.

Kolon Benit took on an industry partnership role at the event. Kolon Group established a dedicated competition track called the "Kolon Custom Track," focused on addressing industrial challenges through quantum computing, with Kolon Benit providing mentoring to participating teams. Teams chose from topics designated by Kolon Industries and Kolon Benit and worked to solve them.

Kolon Benit selected two teams for its "Kolon Special Award" on Thursday — one in the manufacturing and chemistry category for work on "material structure and property prediction," and another in the new business discovery category for "business value combination optimization."

The company plans to offer the winning teams — QAIST and QR2026_08 — benefits including consideration for proof-of-concept linkage and joint project support. Additional perks such as internship and recruitment connections are also under review.

Kolon Benit said it will also work to identify future talent in quantum technology, with plans to advance its application of quantum computing — a next-generation technology — by drawing on its industrial capabilities and IT expertise.

"Quantum computing is a next-generation technology that offers a new approach to complex optimization problems in industry," said Lee Seung-jae, head of Kolon Benit's future technology team. "Through this hackathon, we will redefine the industrial challenges Kolon faces from a quantum perspective and concretely explore the possibilities for its application."