Initi­at­ives & external funding

Innov­a­tion Initi­at­ive “QuantumBW”

QuantumBW is a major innov­a­tion initi­at­ive for quantum techno­lo­gies in the state of Baden-Württemberg. It bundles activ­it­ies and initi­at­ives with the aim of further strength­en­ing exist­ing activ­it­ies and clusters, and of increas­ing their inter­na­tional visibility. 

IQST is an integ­ral part of this initi­at­ive and actively supports, drives and helps to shape the mission of QuantumBW. This includes, in partic­u­lar, enabling close collab­or­a­tion between industry and academia with flexible access to research infra­struc­ture and the further devel­op­ment of a quantum ecosys­tem in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in which academic insti­tu­tions, global indus­trial players and start-ups join forces — thereby trans­lat­ing funda­mental quantum science into techno­lo­gies to address societal challenges and open up new markets.

The QuantumBW office, which coordin­ates the activ­it­ies of the innov­a­tion initi­at­ive and serves as a first point of contact, is managed by the IQST together with the Fraunhofer Insti­tute for Applied Solid State Physics IAF and the Fraunhofer Insti­tute for Indus­trial Engin­eer­ing IAO, and is jointly funded by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism.

DFG Gradu­ate School “Towards Gradu­ate Experts in Photonic Quantum Technologies”

The gradu­ate school GRK 2462 Towards Gradu­ate Experts in Photonic Quantum Techno­lo­gies” started in 2021 and aims to estab­lish a new type of profes­sional: The Photonic Quantum Engin­eer. The Research Train­ing Group builds on the activ­it­ies of the Stutt­gart Research Centre of Photonic Engin­eer­ing (SCoPE) and IQST. 

The Photonic Quantum Engin­eer is an expert in both quantum physics and engin­eer­ing. The Research Train­ing Group there­fore pursues in innov­at­ive inter­dis­cip­lin­ary train­ing programme that covers aspects ranging from novel mater­i­als and fabric­a­tion methods, electron­ics and data analysis to theory and simula­tions. Each PhD student is jointly super­vised by an expert in physics and an expert in engin­eer­ing, and works on cutting-edge research projects related to quantum light sources, quantum sensing and enabling technologies.

Cluster for Future QSens

The joint project QSens has won the highly compet­it­ive “Clusters4Future” compet­i­tion of the Federal Ministry of Educa­tion and Research (BMBF) as one of seven innov­a­tion networks in Germany and the only one on quantum techno­lo­gies. Since 2021, research­ers from Stutt­gart and Ulm work with industry to develop quantum sensors for future applic­a­tions and bring them to market. Applic­a­tions range from medical diagnostics to autonom­ous driving and inform­a­tion techno­logy (IoT — Inter­net of Things). 

In addition to the exist­ing indus­trial cooper­a­tion with Zeiss, Bosch, Bruker and Trumpf within IQST, further indus­trial partners are involved. There are also strong collab­or­a­tions with the state research insti­tute IMS Chips in Stutt­gart and the recently estab­lished DLR — QT Insti­tute (German Aerospace Centre on Quantum Techno­lo­gies) in Ulm.

Compet­ence Network Quantum Techno­logy in BW | QTBW.net

Leading research insti­tu­tions and insti­tutes in Baden-Württemberg have joined forces to form the nation­wide “Quantum Techno­logy — Baden-Württemberg” (QTBW.net) compet­ence network in 2020. The Landess­tif­tung Baden-Württemberg found­a­tion is provid­ing five million euros in funding for inter­dis­cip­lin­ary and cross-location research projects from this network. The “Quantum Techno­lo­gies” research programme of the Baden-Württemberg Found­a­tion aims to support excel­lent research and exist­ing research groups in Baden-Württemberg, and to trans­late their results into practical applications. 

QTBW.net receives an additional one million euros from the Ministry of Science and the Arts (MWK) to finance the network’s activ­it­ies. The mission of QTBW.net is to bundle research, devel­op­ment and applic­a­tion of quantum techno­lo­gies and to strategic­ally position Baden-Württemberg as a leading research location in this fledging field. 

QPhoton

The trans­re­g­ional centre QPhoton, funded by the Carl Zeiss Found­a­tion, provides an inter­dis­cip­lin­ary platform for research and exchange for around 50 scient­ists from the univer­sit­ies of Jena, Stutt­gart and Ulm working in the broad field of quantum photonics. Photonics is one of the key techno­lo­gies of quantum science: Photons serve as sensors, data carri­ers and quantum systems. Linking the three sites accel­er­ates the trans­la­tion of basic research results into applic­a­tions. The respect­ive strengths in quantum techno­lo­gies with atoms, solids, super­con­duct­ing mater­i­als and photons comple­ment each other and also enable the targeted promo­tion of young scientists.

The aim of QPhoton is to develop a new gener­a­tion of imaging and sensor techno­lo­gies based on quantum science. These will enable higher sensit­iv­it­ies and faster data processing. To this end, research is being carried out in three areas of innov­a­tion: sensor techno­lo­gies for the control of quantum systems, quantum techno­lo­gies for quantum imaging, and quantum-based inform­a­tion processing.