The Insti­tute for Micro­elec­tron­ics Stuttgart (IMS CHIPS) is the youngest member of the Quantum^BW Network and a driving force for innova­tion in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, partic­u­larly in the field of electronic and photonic integra­tion technolo­gies. These areas form key compo­nents for quantum technolo­gies in the form of nanos­truc­tur­ing and the high integra­tion of electronic circuits. With IMS CHIPS, the quantum ecosys­tem in the region is growing by an insti­tute that combines scien­tific preci­sion with indus­trial appli­ca­tion in these impor­tant technologies.

Quantum technolo­gies are one of the key technolo­gies of the 21st century. They are opening up completely new possi­bil­i­ties in the fields of comput­ing, commu­ni­ca­tion and sensor technol­ogy. IMS CHIPS contributes to these devel­op­ments with scalable electronic and photonic integra­tion technolo­gies. Quantum^BW is delighted about the new addition to the network, which, as a driving force in these areas, is advanc­ing the indus­trial appli­ca­tion of quantum technolo­gies in Baden-Württemberg.

Over the next eight years, Quantum^BW aims to achieve broad avail­abil­ity of quantum sensors in mass markets in Baden-Württemberg along its quantum sensor technol­ogy roadmap. This is only possi­ble with strong partners like IMS CHIPS, who, together with the other players from the Quantum^BW network, have the poten­tial to bring the first volume products in the field of quantum sensor technol­ogy to market in THE LÄND.

About IMS CHIPS

IMS CHIPS (Insti­tut für Mikroelek­tronik Stuttgart) is commit­ted to cutting-edge research and ground­break­ing innova­tions in key technolo­gies of the future. As a leading insti­tu­tion in the fields of integrated circuits and systems, silicon photon­ics, M(E)MS technolo­gies and nanos­truc­tur­ing, the IMS combines scien­tific preci­sion with indus­trial application.

In close cooper­a­tion with the Univer­sity of Stuttgart and as part of the Baden-Württemberg Innova­tion Alliance, the insti­tute devel­ops customized solutions — from high-precision one-offs to special­ized small-batch productions.

With its pioneer­ing research projects, IMS CHIPS is setting new standards in litho­g­ra­phy, medical technol­ogy, optics and photon­ics, smart sensor technol­ogy, indus­try 4.0 and artifi­cial intel­li­gence. Through its involve­ment in high-profile projects, the insti­tute is driving progress, preci­sion and sustain­able technol­ogy devel­op­ment worldwide.

The commit­ment to sustain­abil­ity and energy efficiency is a central compo­nent of the institute’s work. It secures and expands the research and devel­op­ment of cutting-edge technolo­gies in Germany. In doing so, it relies on trans­par­ent and sustain­able processes and acts as a reliable partner to German indus­try. Partic­u­larly in the field of process devel­op­ment for nanos­truc­tur­ing, the insti­tute sets new standards and makes an impor­tant contri­bu­tion to the country’s innov­a­tive strength.

Quantum technolo­gies will, once they are opera­tional, funda­men­tally change many areas of our lives, proba­bly even more so than AI: quantum comput­ing offers previ­ously unimag­in­able comput­ing power, quantum commu­ni­ca­tion allows for completely secure message exchange, and quantum sensors will make it possi­ble to detect the small­est changes in physi­cal quanti­ties. Even though funda­men­tal research topics still need to be clari­fied, commer­cial appli­ca­tions are already foresee­able in some areas. And as great as the poten­tial of quantum technolo­gies is, it is just as impor­tant to quickly trans­fer them into appli­ca­tions.

The Karlsruhe Univer­sity of Applied Sciences (HKA) is an estab­lished name in the field of applied sciences in Baden-Württemberg and repre­sents an impor­tant addition to the Quantum^BW network. The promo­tion of young talent is a key pillar of the quantum strat­egy of the state of Baden-Württemberg. With its engineer­ing and computer science facul­ties and its strength in applied research in the STEM fields, the Karlsruhe Univer­sity of Applied Sciences is in the perfect position to develop and make acces­si­ble the appli­ca­tions of quantum technolo­gies for its natural partners, small, medium-sized and large compa­nies in the regional economy.

By joining Quantum^BW, the HKA aims to network with the other players in Baden-Württemberg and contribute to making our state a leading location in Germany and Europe in this impor­tant future technology.

About Univer­sity of Applied Sciences

The Karlsruhe Univer­sity of Applied Sciences (HKA) is one of the largest and most research-oriented univer­si­ties of applied sciences in Baden-Württemberg. Its passion for excel­lent teach­ing and innov­a­tive research is what sets it apart and is reflected in its excel­lent ranking results. It works closely with regional and national businesses. It stands for diver­sity, innova­tion, sustain­abil­ity, inter­na­tional orien­ta­tion, and togetherness.

The Karlsruhe Univer­sity of Applied Sciences is a public corpo­ra­tion. It is repre­sented by the rector, Prof. Dr. Rose Marie Beck.

In the Inter­na­tional Year of Quantum Technolo­gies, Quantum^BW, together with its partners Photon­ics BW and the German Chamber of Indus­try and Commerce (IHK), invites to the Quantum Roadshow on four dates. The success­ful kick-off took place in Aalen on Febru­ary 25. The focus of the event was on the current state of technol­ogy in the three subject areas of quantum comput­ing, quantum sensors and quantum commu­ni­ca­tion. At the digiZ location Aalen of the IHK Ostwürt­tem­berg, quantum technol­ogy manufac­tur­ers from the Quantum^BW network and poten­tial end users from the region came together for a fruit­ful exchange.

Baden-Württemberg is position­ing itself as Germany’s leading location for quantum commu­ni­ca­tion technolo­gies. With the opening of two impor­tant test tracks in Karlsruhe and Ulm, a decisive step has been taken towards realiz­ing the poten­tial of quantum commu­ni­ca­tion and quantum networks.

Both test tracks are an integral part of the innova­tion strat­egy of the state’s Quantum^BW initia­tive. The planned connec­tion of the test tracks via the Univer­sity of Stuttgart will create a statewide network that will drive the quantum revolu­tion in Baden-Württemberg. This strate­gic devel­op­ment strength­ens the region as a leading location for quantum research and appli­ca­tions and helps to increase security in areas such as medicine, finance and politics.

With these initia­tives, Baden-Württemberg under­scores its role as a pioneer in quantum commu­ni­ca­tion and offers researchers a unique platform for research and devel­op­ment of cutting-edge quantum technologies.

With the addition of Festo, the Quantum^BW network has gained a strong and application-focused partner. Festo is a pioneer in the use of quantum technolo­gies that has recog­nized the poten­tial for itself. The company has opened the door to a completely new realm of possi­bil­i­ties in the field of process control in biore­ac­tors with the use of photonic quantum sensors from Q.ANT—another Quantum^BW network partner. Festo is now contribut­ing their experi­ence in the appli­ca­tion of quantum technolo­gies to the Quantum^BW ecosys­tem. The quantum technol­ogy initia­tive in Baden-Württemberg aims to identify further use cases in order to jointly develop the oppor­tu­ni­ties and poten­tial of quantum technolo­gies for the economy and ultimately for society.

“From the steam engine to the computer, to the connected cloud, to neural networks and entan­gled qubits — techno­log­i­cal change has always occurred, but the pace of innova­tion is accel­er­at­ing. Keeping pace, recog­niz­ing poten­tial and actively shaping the future is the key challenge for any technology-driven business. It is diffi­cult to say when, where and for whom quantum technolo­gies will realize their poten­tial. The only thing that is clear is that the joint commit­ment of all players, from research to appli­ca­tion, is the basic prereq­ui­site,” explains Dr Uwe S. Pracht, who works in the Corpo­rate Research & Innova­tion depart­ment at Festo.

Daniel Spies, who also works in Corpo­rate Research & Innova­tion at Festo, adds: “Festo is already prepar­ing for the new technol­ogy and is working closely with indus­try and research to play a leading role at the forefront of techno­log­i­cal progress. We are there­fore partic­u­larly looking forward to a valuable exchange with the partners in the Quantum^BW network in order to achieve this goal together.”

About Festo SE & Co. KG

In addition, the proxim­ity to the appli­ca­tion enables special oppor­tu­ni­ties for the valida­tion of Quantum^BW partner technolo­gies for quantum sensing and quantum AI, which are an impor­tant build­ing block for devel­op­ing even more efficient and high-performance system compo­nents and ultimately bring­ing the technolo­gies into application.

“The overar­ch­ing commit­ment to the selected network with targeted and funded projects will certainly have a lasting impact on the local economic strength in a dozen years’ time. We are grate­ful and delighted to have been accepted into the Quantum^BW network and see this as a strate­gi­cally impor­tant social commit­ment,” explains Viach­eslav Gromov, founder and manag­ing partner of AITAD GmbH.

About AITAD

AITAD is a German embed­ded AI provider with around 30 employ­ees, its own produc­tion facil­ity and test hall. The company focuses on the devel­op­ment, testing and series produc­tion of AI electron­ics systems, partic­u­larly in connec­tion with machine learn­ing in an indus­trial context (especially system compo­nents). As a devel­op­ment partner, AITAD takes over the entire process from data collec­tion to devel­op­ment and deliv­ery of the system compo­nents. This allows innov­a­tive adapta­tions to be made to the product without the need for exper­tise and only a few resources on the part of the customer. The focus is on future-oriented, disrup­tive, innov­a­tive adapta­tions with the great­est possi­ble impact on struc­tures and product strategies.

AITAD acts as an inter­dis­ci­pli­nary full-stack provider in the fields of data science, mechan­i­cal engineer­ing and embed­ded hardware and software. AITAD also conducts inter­nal and exter­nal research into numer­ous algorith­mic and semicon­duc­tor funda­men­tals of AI technol­ogy. In 2023, AITAD received the “embed­ded award” against “AWS” and “AMD” in the AI category, the Top100 Innova­tion Award for medium-sized compa­nies and was named AI Champion Baden-Württemberg.

10/29/2024, Trade fair for quantum technolo­gies a huge success

Looking back at Quantum Effects 2024

On October 9 and 10, the second edition of the inter­na­tional trade fair for quantum technolo­gies, Quantum Effects, took place in Stuttgart. The Quantum^BW joint booth with 20 co-exhibiting univer­si­ties, research insti­tutes and public insti­tu­tions presented quantum technolo­gies on 450 m².

Impres­sions from the venue

9/13/2024, Advanced quantum sensors for biomedicine

QSens enters second phase of BMBF funding

The QSens future cluster is enter­ing its second funding phase. The Federal Ministry of Educa­tion and Research (BMBF) is support­ing the cluster for a further three years with up to 15 million euros as part of the “Clusters4Future” program.

One of the largest energy compa­nies in Germany and Europe, EnBW AG, joins Quantum^BW. With an inter­dis­ci­pli­nary approach, EnBW is build­ing up knowl­edge for market oppor­tu­ni­ties arising from future devel­op­ments in quantum comput­ing in the energy system.

About EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG

With over 28,000 employ­ees, EnBW is one of the largest energy compa­nies in Germany and Europe. It supplies around 5.5 million customers with electric­ity, gas, water as well as services and products in the areas of infra­struc­ture and energy. As part of its realign­ment from a tradi­tional energy supplier to a sustain­able infra­struc­ture company, the expan­sion of renew­able energies and the distri­b­u­tion and trans­mis­sion grids for electric­ity and gas are corner­stones of EnBW’s growth strat­egy and the focus of its invest­ments. EnBW plans to invest €40 billion gross by 2030, around 90% of which will be in Germany. By the end of 2025, more than half of EnBW’s gener­a­tion portfo­lio is to consist of renew­able energies, and the aim is to phase out coal by the end of 2028. These are key milestones on the compa­ny’s path to climate neutral­ity by 2035.

Quantum^BW warmly welcomes its newest member Eviden to the Quantum^BW network. As a next-generation technol­ogy leader in the field of data-driven, trusted and sustain­able digital trans­for­ma­tion, Eviden enriches the quantum technol­ogy ecosys­tem in Baden-Württemberg with impor­tant exper­tise and further advances quantum technologies.

About Eviden

Eviden is a next-gen technol­ogy leader with a strong portfo­lio of patented technolo­gies. With world­wide leading positions in advanced comput­ing, security, AI, cloud and digital platforms, it provides deep exper­tise for all indus­tries in more than 47 countries. Bring­ing together 47,000 world-class talents, Eviden expands the possi­bil­i­ties of data and technol­ogy across the digital contin­uum, now and for gener­a­tions to come. Eviden is a global leader in quantum comput­ing with a complete as-a-service offer­ing focused on appli­ca­tion devel­op­ment. Eviden supports the rapid innova­tion and adoption of quantum solutions for enter­prises and organizations.

7/10/2024, Press release of the Ministry of Science, Research and Arts Baden-Württemberg

IQST Gradu­ate School @Quantum^BW starts

Trans­fer from science to application 

• Quantum sensor technol­ogy and metrology
• Quantum comput­ing and quantum informatics
• Integrated quantum technolo­gies, integrated quantum photon­ics and quantum materials
• Quantum networks

In addition, train­ing and quali­fi­ca­tion measures are offered on topics such as trans­fer, founda­tion or intel­lec­tual property (IP). These train­ing courses are also open to doctoral students from other quantum initia­tives in the state. In this way, the doctoral network and the quantum commu­nity in Baden-Württemberg will continue to grow. The call for projects will be published in July 2024 so that the ten doctoral projects can start in October 2024.

Apply now for October 2024

• Call: Gradu­ate School, October 2024

• Gradu­ate School appli­ca­tion template

6/7/2024, press release of Ulm University

Science Minis­ter Petra Olschowski visits univer­sity campus

Magnetic resonance imaging and GPS naviga­tion are based on quantum mechan­i­cal functions. However, quantum mechan­ics should also enable tap-proof commu­ni­ca­tion and highly sensi­tive sensors in the future. Quantum comput­ers could help with simula­tions or person­alised drug devel­op­ment. Science Minis­ter Petra Olschowski learned about Ulm Univer­si­ty’s central role in pioneer­ing research into quantum science during a visit on Thurs­day, 6 June.

The state minis­ter was welcomed by Profes­sor Joachim Anker­hold, spokesper­son for the state-wide innova­tion campus for quantum technolo­gies QuantumBW and head of the Insti­tute for Complex Quantum Systems at Ulm Univer­sity. He presented research projects at the Ulm site and their integra­tion into QuantumBW and discussed current challenges with the Science Minis­ter. He also presented various activ­i­ties aimed at publi­cis­ing the research field of quantum science — from school labs to science slams. “We are delighted to be able to present to the Minis­ter the exten­sive activ­i­ties in the quantum field on the campus, which are an integral part of the new Innova­tion Campus. The gener­ous and long-term funding provided by the state is crucial for this still young technol­ogy with high innova­tion poten­tial,” says Profes­sor Ankerhold.

2/2/2024, Press release of Ulm University

Cluster of Excel­lence proposal Chem4Quant in the next round

From a total of 143 draft propos­als, the panel of experts for the Excel­lence Strat­egy initia­tive has selected 41 for a full proposal. These include the “Chem4Quant” draft proposal from KIT (the univer­sity manag­ing the funds), Ulm Univer­sity and the Univer­sity of Stuttgart. In this joint project, an inter­dis­ci­pli­nary team from the areas of chemistry, physics, computer science and materi­als science is seeking to develop atomi­cally precise mater­ial struc­tures to be used in future quantum technolo­gies. Using a chemi­cal platform, qubit materi­als are to be planned and designed in such a way that they will be ideally suited to the specific require­ments of quantum technol­ogy. The high-precision quantum archi­tec­tures are intended for use in such areas as the future quantum internet.

“We are thrilled that our draft proposal was success­ful and that we can now submit a full proposal for a Cluster of Excel­lence”, says Profes­sor Fedor Jelezko. Jelezko is the head of the Ulm Insti­tute of Quantum Optics and project spokesper­son for Ulm Univer­sity. “We are pooling globally unique exper­tise in the field of quantum science in Ulm, Stuttgart and Karlsruhe. This advanced technol­ogy is one of the driving forces of innova­tion for the future and puts the (German) South­west in a position of guaran­teed success in global scien­tific and economic compe­ti­tion”, empha­sises Profes­sor Michael Weber, presi­dent of Ulm Univer­sity, who announced the good news at Ulm University’s Dies academicus.

Infor­ma­tion on the draft proposal Chem4Quant: Chemi­cal platform for high-precision quantum architectures

In the joint initia­tive Chem4Quant, researchers from KIT, Ulm Univer­sity and the Univer­sity of Stuttgart aim to develop specific mater­ial struc­tures for future quantum technolo­gies. Despite the break­throughs achieved in the field of quantum technol­ogy so far, many of the platforms currently in use remain limited in terms of scala­bil­ity, adjusta­bil­ity, position­abil­ity and error correc­tion. Chem4Quant is thus propos­ing a funda­men­tally new approach, with a chemistry-based platform. Quantum archi­tec­tures that can be precisely defined in a chemi­cal sense make it possi­ble to delib­er­ately plan atomi­cally precise mater­ial struc­tures and their quantum proper­ties. For example, qubits can be positioned in electri­cal or photonic compo­nents with a preci­sion that lies below the nanome­tre range. 

The initia­tive aims to create new qubit materi­als and develop the first compo­nents for the future quantum inter­net. In this context, Chem4Quant can draw on globally unique exper­tise in the field of molec­u­lar quantum systems as well as estab­lished partnerships.

The Clusters of Excel­lence funding line is part of the Excel­lence Strat­egy of the German federal and state govern­ments. The funding programme is admin­is­tered by the German Research Founda­tion (Deutsche Forschungs­ge­mein­schaft, DFG). Approved Clusters of Excel­lence receive 3 to 10 million euros per year and the maximum duration of funding is two periods of seven years each.

The appli­ca­tion process has multi­ple phases. The panel of experts has now selected 41 out of a total of 143 draft propos­als for full propos­als (EXC propos­als). The final funding decision on the future Clusters of Excel­lence will be taken in late May 2025.

The Quantum^BW team looks back on a success­ful partic­i­pa­tion in the first Quantum Effects trade fair. On October 10 and 11, 2023, the initia­tive gave research insti­tu­tions, indus­trial compa­nies and start-ups as well as networks the oppor­tu­nity to present themselves to an inter­na­tional audience of experts at the Baden-Württemberg state booth.