4colors Research
Company · Cambridge
Optimisation solver company that won the Airbus and BMW quantum challenge and led an NQCC SparQ project on aircraft cargo loading with Airbus and ORCA.
Completed Consortium
Quantum-Accelerated Mixed-Integer Optimisation for Aircraft Loading
A 4colors-led proof of concept that tested hybrid classical and quantum algorithms for loading cargo on aircraft.
Project data last updated 11 October 2026
About this project
Aircraft cargo loading means deciding what to load and where, while meeting weight, balance and structural limits. 4colors Research led the project with Airbus, ORCA Computing and the NQCC. DNV took part as an observer.
The team ran hybrid algorithms on gate-based and photonic quantum hardware and compared them with classical methods. It was one of the NQCC SparQ proof of concept projects for 2025-26, awarded under the 2025 STFC Cross Cluster Proof of Concept call.
Lead organisation
Partners (3)
Airbus
Company · Filton
ORCA Computing
Company · London
NQCC
Research organisation · Harwell
Funders
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NQCC
Research organisation · Harwell
In the news
Quantum Zeitgeist articles naming the lead organisation or partners. They may not be about this project.
A recap of the Quantum Software Lab’s Quantum Fringe in Edinburgh, read on Quantum Zeitgeist
The Quantum Software Lab (QSL) at the University of Edinburgh has become a globally recognized hub for creating software solutions, and with its strategic partnership with the UK’s National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC), now has more than 70 researchers. In three years, the QSL is poised to lead a
Image © Quantum Zeitgeist
Ben Varcoe, The Leeds Physicist and Entrepreneur Behind Creavo and Cavero, read on Quantum Zeitgeist
Ben Varcoe is Professor of Quantum Information Science at the University of Leeds, and a physicist who builds companies as well as experiments. He first made his name in 2000 with a paper in Nature that showed how to make light containing an exact number of photons, something physicists had found ve
Image © Quantum Zeitgeist
Rydberg atoms could boost quantum sensing for defense and space, read on Quantum Zeitgeist
Quantum X Labs is integrating its patent-pending atomic clock with Rydberg atom-based RF sensing, expanding its work in atom-based quantum sensing.
Image © Quantum Zeitgeist
Gradiant to showcase quantum develops at New Space España, read on Quantum Zeitgeist
Gradiant will present its vision for quantum technologies at New Space España, September 24-25, focusing on secure communications, precision sensing, and advanced quantum computing.
Image © Quantum Zeitgeist
Sources
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