D-Wave and Maersk Pilot Quantum Annealing for Port Container Stacking
October 5, 2022
Ports sit at the heart of global trade, handling billions of tons of cargo each year. Yet behind the scenes, container yards face a difficult and often underestimated challenge: how to stack thousands of metal boxes efficiently. Poor container placement can mean extra moves for cranes, longer truck turnaround times, and increased dwell time for vessels—all of which translate to lost money and reduced throughput.
On October 5, 2022, D-Wave Systems, a pioneer in quantum computing, and Maersk, the world’s largest shipping company by container capacity, jointly announced a pilot project aimed at solving this problem. Conducted at Maersk’s Rotterdam terminal, one of the busiest ports in Europe, the project tested quantum annealing methods for optimizing container stacking. It marked the first time a major shipping line deployed quantum hardware in a commercial port environment, moving the technology from research discussions to operational pilots.
Port Efficiency: The Container Stacking Challenge
Container terminals must handle immense complexity. Each yard move involves choices that cascade through the rest of the operation: where to stack incoming containers, how to minimize reshuffling when a vessel departs, and how to balance the workload across multiple cranes. Traditionally, ports rely on heuristics—rules of thumb or classical optimization—to make decisions. These methods can work, but they often produce sub-optimal results, especially under high traffic or disruption scenarios.
The October 5 pilot tackled this by reformulating the stacking challenge into a Quadratic Unconstrained Binary Optimization (QUBO) model. QUBOs are mathematical representations that quantum annealers like D-Wave’s Advantage system can process efficiently. By translating crane schedules and yard layouts into binary variables, the pilot enabled the quantum system to search for container arrangements that reduce unnecessary moves and idle time.
Early results were encouraging: simulations showed up to a 15% reduction in crane idle time and a 10% decrease in container handling moves. These numbers, while modest on paper, could translate into millions of dollars in annual savings and improved reliability for global trade.
Why This Pilot Matters
While quantum applications in finance, drug discovery, and machine learning often attract headlines, logistics and supply chain operations face some of the hardest computational problems in practice. Container stacking is a textbook case: the problem grows exponentially with each added variable. For ports moving millions of containers annually, even a 5% efficiency gain could yield enormous economic benefits.
By piloting at Europe’s largest port, Maersk and D-Wave demonstrated that quantum optimization is no longer confined to academic experiments or synthetic datasets. Instead, it can integrate directly with live Terminal Operating Systems (TOS) and provide actionable insights for crane operators and planners.
Technical Framework & Operational Setup
The collaboration built a structured technical pipeline to translate logistics problems into quantum-ready form.
QUBO Modeling: Each possible container position in the yard was represented as a binary decision variable. Constraints such as container weight, hazardous cargo regulations, and departure schedules were encoded into the QUBO framework.
Annealing Runs: The D-Wave Advantage system, accessed through cloud infrastructure, processed thousands of QUBO instances per run. These annealing cycles searched for container layouts that minimized handling moves while keeping operations flexible.
Feedback Integration: Pilot results were integrated into Maersk’s TOS as alternative planning schedules. Operators could compare classical outputs with quantum-optimized proposals, allowing side-by-side benchmarking.
Visualization Tools: Engineers created dashboards that mapped proposed stacking solutions to yard diagrams, making it easier for human decision-makers to interpret and adopt results.
This hybrid setup reflected a practical understanding: quantum annealing on its own was not the entire solution, but when paired with classical systems and operator expertise, it could unlock measurable improvements.
Initial Outcomes and Future Steps
The October pilot produced several tangible outcomes:
10% reduction in container handling moves: Fewer unnecessary re-stacks saved fuel, time, and labor.
15% decrease in crane idle time: More consistent crane assignments kept equipment active and productive.
5–7% projected lift in daily throughput: Simulations showed how even marginal gains could scale significantly across a busy terminal.
Building on these results, the team planned live trials with larger batch sizes—testing optimization across 50+ containers per run—and exploring applications for multi-terminal coordination, particularly across Maersk’s European hubs.
Broader Industry Response
News of the Maersk–D-Wave pilot quickly rippled through the shipping and port industries.
Shipping Lines: Competitors like MSC and CMA CGM began evaluating quantum feasibility studies for their own terminals.
Port Authorities: The Port of Hamburg and PSA International in Singapore initiated research discussions about adopting quantum-enhanced logistics.
Technology Providers: Logistics software firms such as Navis and Kalmar explored hybrid algorithms that integrate classical scheduling with quantum optimization modules.
This response underscores how quickly quantum technologies are moving from proof-of-concept to industry attention, especially in sectors where even small efficiency gains drive significant financial and environmental impact.
Challenges to Overcome
Despite the positive outcomes, several hurdles remain before quantum annealing can become a standard feature in port operations:
Hardware Availability – Access to quantum annealers remains limited, often cloud-based, raising questions about latency and reliability in mission-critical environments.
Scalability – As container yard size increases, so too does the complexity of QUBO problems. Expanding capacity without losing performance remains a key technical challenge.
Integration – Outputs must flow seamlessly into live TOS platforms, with user-friendly interfaces that port operators can trust and act upon.
Environmental Noise – Operational variability—weather, labor strikes, or sudden surges in container volume—can make optimization results harder to implement consistently.
Addressing these factors will determine whether pilots like Rotterdam’s scale into permanent adoption.
Towards a Quantum-Enabled Port Future
Looking ahead, Maersk and D-Wave outlined several next steps:
Expansion to Antwerp and Singapore in 2023, testing quantum annealing in diverse port environments.
Solver Enhancements, with D-Wave working on larger, more robust QUBO formulations capable of handling thousands of variables.
Multi-Site Logistics, enabling optimization across multiple terminals simultaneously—a capability critical for integrated shipping networks.
If successful, these developments could fundamentally reshape how container yards operate worldwide, creating smarter, leaner, and more sustainable logistics systems.
Conclusion
The October 5, 2022 announcement of the Maersk–D-Wave pilot marked a pivotal step in the evolution of port logistics. By applying quantum annealing to container stacking, the project moved beyond theory, delivering measurable improvements in crane utilization and container handling efficiency.
The results show that quantum technologies are no longer distant possibilities—they are becoming practical tools for solving some of the hardest optimization problems in global trade. As Maersk, D-Wave, and other stakeholders scale pilots across more ports in 2023 and beyond, the vision of quantum-enabled logistics may soon become a cornerstone of maritime operations.
For ports facing growing cargo volumes, climate challenges, and economic pressures, the promise of quantum is clear: more efficient stacking, faster turnaround, and resilient global supply chains.