IonQ signs DOE MOU to advance quantum technologies in space alongside Honeywell and EPB
On 2025-09-17 the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Technology Commercialization announced that IonQ, Honeywell, and the Electric Power Board of Chattanooga (EPB) joined its Quantum-in-Space Collaboration via memoranda of understanding. IonQ's role is to design and execute an orbital demonstration of quantum-secure ground-to-orbit-to-ground communications using its satellite platform.
A government-counterparty MOU for an orbital quantum-secure communications demonstration is a notable validation of IonQ's networking ambitions, but as a non-binding arrangement without committed funding it sits at the notable rather than material tier.
Aligning with DOE on space-based quantum communications reinforces the federal-strategy thread running through IonQ's September moves and opens a path to space-segment quantum-networking pilots.