Quantum for Energy and Utilities 2026

To help leaders sequence investment and capability building, this paper presents an organizational roadmap with three horizons: Within 2 years Focus on a small set of high-value use cases, run low-risk pilots with measurable success criteria, and build internal literacy and partner ecosystems, while strengthening the security foundation through post- quantum cryptography readiness assessments. Over 3-5 years Move from experimentation to institutionalization by embedding quantum into digital, operational technology (OT) and cyber roadmaps, expanding scaling-up mechanisms and collaboration frameworks, and rolling out post-quantum cryptography (PQC) and quantum key distribution (QKD). Beyond 5 years Treat quantum as part of the permanent compute and security stack alongside high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI), sustaining continuous innovation pipelines and coordinating across the sector so that standards, procurement and regulation keep pace with technical capability. Organizations that start now, with disciplined measurement and strong collaboration, will be best placed to turn early pilots into scalable operational capability. Quantum for Energy and Utilities: Key Opportunities for Energy Transition 5