Hesse’s Minister for Digital Strategy and Development, Prof. Dr. Kristina Sinemus, and Minister for Higher Education, Research and the Arts, Angela Dorn, today signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) by the state government in Darmstadt, providing for the establishment of a Center for Applied Quantum Computing (ZAQC) with funding of €3.151 million. The aim of the ZAQC is to initiate quantum computing projects together with industry, intensify research into quantum computing in Hesse, and promote the economic exploitation of this technology. A major advantage of the ZAQC, which will be based at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD in Darmstadt, will be its close collaboration within the Germany-wide Fraunhofer Competence Network for Quantum Computing. The project is scheduled to start in early 2022.

Quantum computing is one of the most promising future technologies and is of great importance for the digital sovereignty of Hesse, Germany, and Europe. It is already becoming apparent that quantum computers have enormous potential to handle types of calculations that cannot be solved with classical computers, or only with extremely long computing times. Unlocking quantum computing is therefore seen as a key prerequisite for Germany to remain competitive in the international arena over the long term.

“With today’s signing of the LoI, we are laying the foundation to safeguard Hesse’s competitiveness in the future. Hesse already has a high level of research activity in the field of quantum technologies, particularly in the medical sector. Quantum technology enables medicine to simulate molecular structures and calculate the composition of active pharmaceutical ingredients. The benefits will include faster research results and more efficient drug development. That is why we have also anchored this key technology in our strategy ‘Digital Hesse – Where the Future Is at Home,’” said Prof. Dr. Kristina Sinemus.

“By entering the technology at an early stage, the Darmstadt competence center can become a pillar of the emerging quantum ecosystem in Germany and serve as a point of contact for researchers from around the world,” explained Angela Dorn. “Promising opportunities for cooperation arise with Hesse’s universities and the cross-university Hessian Center for Artificial Intelligence, with the Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology (SIT), also based here in Darmstadt, and with the National Research Center for Applied Cybersecurity ATHENE. This newly emerging network of expertise will strengthen and further develop Hesse as a center of science.”

“It is fundamental that the state government of Hesse—and in particular the Minister for Digital Strategy and Development, Prof. Dr. Kristina Sinemus, and the Minister for Higher Education, Research and the Arts, Angela Dorn—support the project with such clear priority. Together, we are taking the decisive step to test the performance of quantum computers for industrial applications and to make them available for such purposes,” said Prof. Dr. Dieter W. Fellner. “Here, the knowledge of research and the capabilities of industry are being brought together. Darmstadt will thus become an important location for a forward-looking technology.”

Dr. Kai Beckmann commented on the application potential of quantum technology for industry: “As a science and technology company, we are intensively analyzing the possible uses of quantum computing, for example in pharmaceutical research, and in the future we will be able to contribute materials for the realization of the technology. In addition, we want to help shape the emerging quantum computing ecosystem in Germany, for instance through selected industry partnerships. The Center for Applied Quantum Computing that the State of Hesse plans to establish in Darmstadt is a very good investment to advance this innovation-driven business location.”

The Fraunhofer Competence Network for Quantum Computing consists of regional competence centers in a total of seven federal states, each with its own research focus. In Darmstadt, Fraunhofer IGD and the Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology (SIT) are already working within the competence network to improve the applicability of quantum computers. For these tasks, the ZAQC will use the quantum computer of the Fraunhofer Competence Network for Quantum Computing, an IBM Q System One in Ehningen. Through the ZAQC, it will also be possible for other organizations in Hesse outside the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft—such as companies—to use the existing infrastructure and support services for programming quantum computers.