--- title: "The FeMo-cofactor and classical and quantum computing" url: https://daily.dev/posts/the-femo-cofactor-and-classical-and-quantum-computing-giurlpd8d source_url: https://quantumfrontiers.com/2026/03/12/the-femo-cofactor-and-classical-and-quantum-computing/ type: article source: "Quantum Frontiers" published: 2026-03-13T05:19:45.616Z updated: 2026-03-13T05:20:12.261Z tags: ["quantum-computing"] reading_time: 18 upvotes: 0 comments: 0 language: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # The FeMo-cofactor and classical and quantum computing **[Quantum Frontiers](https://daily.dev/sources/quantumfrontiers)** · 18 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Garnet Chan provides commentary on a preprint classically solving the FeMo-cofactor (FeMo-co) ground-state energy to chemical accuracy, contextualizing it within quantum computing for chemistry. The FeMo-co is the reaction center of nitrogenase, the enzyme responsible for biological nitrogen fixation. A 2017 paper by Reiher et al. popularized FeMo-co as a benchmark for quantum advantage in chemistry, but the original model used was trivially easy classically. Chan's group developed a more representative 152-qubit LLDUC model, which has since become the standard benchmark. Their new work shows this model can be solved classically using a filtering and enumeration protocol over competing product states, revealing that FeMo-co's complexity stems from multiple competing configurations rather than deep multiconfigurational entanglement. Chan argues this does not undermine enthusiasm for quantum computing in chemistry, but does challenge claims of exponential quantum speedup for such problems. He also corrects the misconception that nitrogenase is more energy-efficient than the Haber-Bosch process. The key lesson is that quantum algorithms should target problems where classical heuristics genuinely fail, and that understanding the physics of a problem is essential for both classical and quantum approaches. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Why some nitrogen-processing enzymes are more efficient than others](https://daily.dev/posts/why-some-nitrogen-processing-enzymes-are-more-efficient-than-others-s61y4ogh7) · MIT News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [QC Ware Demonstrates Hybrid Quantum-Classical Chemistry Workflow with IBM Quantum Hardware](https://daily.dev/posts/qc-ware-demonstrates-hybrid-quantum-classical-chemistry-workflow-with-ibm-quantum-hardware-lnrtnmvh8) · The Quantum Insider · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Paving the way for greener ammonia production](https://daily.dev/posts/paving-the-way-for-greener-ammonia-production-bjndzyihc) · MIT News · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#quantum-computing](https://daily.dev/tags/quantum-computing) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/the-femo-cofactor-and-classical-and-quantum-computing-giurlpd8d)