In the city of Hefei, Anhui Province, China’s first demonstration power substation that systematically uses quantum technologies has gone into operation. The Houdian facility, with a voltage of 220 kilovolts, was commissioned in November 2024, and the People’s Daily Online reported on the achievements of its engineers. The partially automated unit houses 85 quantum devices of its own design, divided into eighteen categories. They are used in three main areas: in sensing, communication, and computing.

The main technical arsenal of an electrical substation includes diamond quantum sensors for high‑precision monitoring of current fluctuations, as well as sensors based on quantum dots that continuously analyze the gas environment inside control cabinets, identifying potential risks of cable fires and partial electric discharges. A quantum lidar scans atmospheric particles and cloud cover within a radius of fifteen kilometers, providing early warnings about weather‑related risks. Quantum position sensors placed on power line supports are capable of detecting changes in the magnetic field at a level of one ten‑thousandth of the Earth’s magnetic field, providing a high level of control over the alignment of the supports. All data exchange at the substation is protected using fiber‑optic quantum communication and encrypted channels of the 5G+ quantum standard, which makes intercepting control of the facility virtually impossible. Power flow calculations are performed by the Origin Wukong quantum computer, which in the future could solve the problem of modeling large‑scale power grids in real time.

Due to the widespread adoption of renewable energy sources and complex power electronics, traditional power grids are no longer able to cope with the load; they lack monitoring accuracy, decision‑making speed, and the level of security required when transmitting control commands. Tian Teng, an engineer at the Institute of Digitalization under the Research Institute of Power Engineering at State Grid Anhui Electric Power, explained that the transition to new technologies is an objective necessity. According to the specialist, the new system is capable of detecting and diagnosing equipment defects much faster, reducing both inspection costs and operational expenses. At the same time, the material does not specify whether the quantum machine performed the analysis faster or more accurately compared to traditional computing systems. According to the project engineers’ estimates, the innovation allowed the Houdian substation to reduce the annual error in electricity measurement by more than five hundred thousand kilowatt-hours. The technologies tested at this facility are already being implemented in other power grids in Anhui Province.