Can quantum computing help tackle real-world water challenges?

15th July 2026

Article by Marzena Lapka

That question brought together 75 participants from across Latin America, including Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, for the 2026 LatAm Quantum Hackathon, supported by the Open Quantum Institute “Quantum computing for water challenges”, held in Puebla, Mexico.

Teams worked on three challenges based on real water systems:

– modelling the Atoyac river basin

– optimising water releases from the Falcón International Dam on the Mexico–US border

– detecting leaks in hydrographic networks

Each team developed a quantum approach and compared it to a classical benchmark.

Congratulations to all the students who took part!

Four teams reached the podium, including two second-place teams, and all three challenges were represented among the top entries.

The hackathon was organised with the support of the Open Quantum Institute, in collaboration with Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Tecnológico de Monterrey, National Autonomous University of Mexico, CICESE, Secretaría de Ciencia, Humanidades, Tecnología e Innovación de Puebla, the Government of Puebla, the Inter-American Network of Networks of QCD challenges and UNESCO.

Quantum computing platforms for all participants were provided by the OQI member, QCentroid.

The event is part of a global OQI hackathon series exploring how quantum computing could contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with more locations to come. Check out our upcoming hackathons here: https://open-quantum-institute.cern/events/