Scientists from China have developed a new cooling technology based on a rare-earth alloy that can reach temperatures close to absolute zero without relying on helium-3, according to reporting by Tom's Hardware citing the South China Morning Post. The breakthrough carries profound implications for Australia's strategic interests and technological sovereignty in an era when quantum computing increasingly determines military and intelligence capabilities.
The team built a compact, solid-state refrigeration module with no moving parts that reached 106 millikelvin (minus 273 degrees Celsius), a temperature typically achieved using liquid helium. The cooling module relied on a rare-earth compound consisting of europium, cobalt, and aluminium.
The timing of this announcement is strategically significant. On January 27, the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) issued a call for modular refrigeration systems that do not rely on helium-3 for next-generation quantum and defence applications. Less than two weeks later, Chinese researchers published their results, signalling that they are ahead of DARPA. This parallel development reveals just how closely Beijing and Washington are competing on the quantum frontier.
Why does cooling matter so much? Superconducting quantum computers use circuits cooled to near absolute zero to maintain quantum coherence, which is the fragile state in which qubits can represent multiple values simultaneously. Previous cryogenic systems relied on expensive, complex liquid-helium infrastructure that constrained where quantum computers could be deployed and drove up operational costs. A compact, solid-state alternative removes these barriers entirely.
The EuCo₂Al₉ compound developed by the team can cool itself and other components, making helium-3-free cooling systems capable of cooling components to nearly absolute zero temperatures possible. The Chinese Academy of Sciences reportedly stated that the alloy has potential for mass production and that a pure-metal refrigeration module based on this material has already been successfully demonstrated.
For Australia, the strategic implications are substantial. China's quantum programme represents a coordinated, state-backed effort to achieve technological dominance in what many defence analysts regard as the defining technology of the coming decade. China Telecom Quantum Group has emerged as a strategic player in quantum computing after becoming the controlling shareholder of QuantumCTek in January 2025. China is now positioning itself not only as a technology developer but also as a quantum computing service provider. This mirrors Beijing's approach in semiconductors and artificial intelligence: build the infrastructure, control the supply chain, establish the standards.
Western nations have attempted to slow this progress through export controls targeting cryogenic equipment and chipmaking tools. Dilution refrigerators are the single most strategically sensitive component in the superconducting quantum computing supply chain. They cool quantum processors to within millikelvins of absolute zero and were, until recently, produced almost exclusively by Oxford Instruments (UK) and Bluefors (Finland), both of which have effectively ceased new sales to Chinese entities following tightened export controls. A domestic helium-free alternative effectively neutralises this particular point of leverage.
The challenge for Australia and its Five Eyes partners is now clear: China has translated strategic intent into engineering solutions faster than anticipated. Since 2022, China publishes more quantum-related research papers annually than any other country, including the United States. The cooling breakthrough is not an isolated achievement but part of a systematic effort to capture the quantum economy.
This development should prompt serious reflection on Australia's own quantum capabilities and dependencies. Where are our training pipelines for quantum scientists? How exposed are critical infrastructure and defence systems to future quantum-enabled cryptanalysis? These are not academic questions. They are questions of national interest.