Quantum Technology Enjoys Highest Priority from German Government; Berlin Starts Local Group To Join Forces

(LaserFocusWorld) Recently, 100 people convened in Berlin, Germany to start a new local network for the development of quantum technologies.
Quantum Technology (QT) enjoys the highest priority from the German government. It has become the subject of a governmental framework program in Germany that has been shaped by not less than four different ministries, which is quite uncommon.
New money has been allocated and funding programs have been issued for both institutional (€ 500 million) and project-related (€ 150 million) programs within the current legislative period until 2022. More money is coming: some € 300 million will be available in autumn 2020 for a strategic initiative on QT. Institutional Funding has been provided to:
–Helmholtz Quantum Center HQC, Jülich
–DLR Institute for QT, Ulm
–PtB QT Competence Center QTZ, Berlin/Braunschweig
–Quantum alliance: Four Cluster of excellence at a total of eight universities
–Fraunhofer IOF’s Quantum Photonics Lab, Jena
–Research group Integrated QT at FBH, Berlin
Other projects, such as an IBM quantum computer that the Fraunhofer society purchased recently, will be installed in 2021.
The whole QT strategy focuses on bringing the technology to markets; thus, technology transfer is a major aim of the federal programs. Special startup programs can be initiated any time. Additional programs for education are installed as well: The European Quantum Futur Academy arranges annual meetings of young people studying QT. The next event will bring 40 students from 20 EC countries to Berlin in November 2020.
The recent meeting was arranged to give the community in Berlin a chance to learn about all those programs and to join local forces, which were enough to fill a full day of presentations, as plenty of academic and other research groups work on QT at the four local universities and some 10 additional research institutes.