Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action commissions consortium to build first German quantum cloud for industrial users
A consortium of leading technology companies and research institutions (University of Stuttgart, Fraunhofer FOKUS, IONOS and QMware) is driving the development of Germany's first quantum cloud under the consortium management of IONOS.
• The quantum cloud creates a platform for quantum applications for the German industrial landscape, strengthens the digital sovereignty in the field of quantum computing and positions Germany as a pioneer in the industrialization of this key technology.
• The research and development project is part of the "Digital Technologies for the Economy" funding program of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Action and is scheduled to run for three years. During this time, selected test users (so-called associated partners) will be given access to the quantum cloud to test initial applications on the platform.
Stuttgart, Munich, Montabaur, 08. November 2022 – The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action commissions a consortium of leading German technology companies and research institutions (University of Stuttgart, Fraunhofer FOKUS, IONOS and QMware) to build Germany’s first quantum cloud for industrial users.
The cloud specialist IONOS takes the lead in the implementation of project SeQuenC (“Sovereignty for Quantum Solutions in the Cloud”). Within the project, IONOS will provide its data centres for the continuous operation of the quantum cloud. The University of Stuttgart and the Fraunhofer FOKUS will contribute tools and methods for the economic development and integration of quantum computing applications. QMware, technology leader in hybrid quantum computing, will provide the necessary hardware as well as the operating system as the basis for the industrial applications.
SeQuenC is part of the funding programme “Digital Technologies for the Economy” and for the first time creates the prerequisites for the German industry and economy to develop and operate sector-specific quantum applications. An own cloud offering that combines the cloud, classical high-performance computers and quantum computers is groundbreaking for Germany’s sovereignty in the field of quantum computing. With this investment, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action is underlining its ambitions in the field of quantum computing and the associated goal of establishing Germany as a pioneer in the industrialisation of this key technology.
The project is scheduled to run for three years. During this time, selected test users (so-called associated partners) will be given access to the quantum cloud in order to develop initial solutions for industrial applications on the platform. Henceforth, the German quantum cloud shall provide partners from industry and economy with quantum-based solutions in addition to classical ones via the architecture of the IONOS data centers. Users can adapt these to their specific area in the hybrid development environment of the QMware platform. The consortium expects the first collaborations to take place in industries that make particular use of applications in the areas of optimisation, simulation or machine learning. For example, in telecommunications, logistics, finance, automotive and energy industries.
Markus Pflitsch, CEO and co-founder of QMware: “The initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action is groundbreaking for the anchoring of quantum technologies in the German industrial landscape. We are delighted to be part of this high-calibre consortium and to contribute our technology and expertise to the further development of the German quantum ecosystem.”
Georg Gesek, CTO and co-founder of QMware: “Quantum is now. With the additional location for QMware’s hybrid quantum computer systems and the integration with the highperformance computers located there, we offer the German industry the opportunity to develop and test quantum-based algorithms and applications in practice and soon also to use them productively. It is an honour for our entire team to contribute our technologies to the German initiative “Digital Technologies for the Economy” and thereby further advance the anchoring of quantum technologies in the industry.”
Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Frank Leymann, Executive Director Institute for Architecture of Application Systems, University of Stuttgart: “We are very pleased to be able to contribute our expertise in middleware, cloud computing and quantum computing to SeQenC. Likewise, results that we and our partners have achieved in the BMWK-funded project PlanQK will flow into SeQenC.”
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Adrian Paschke, Chair of Semantic Data Intelligence at the Institute of Computer Science at Freie Universität Berlin and Director of the Data Analytics Center (DANA) at the Fraunhofer FOKUS: “Quantum applications in the cloud can be great drivers of innovation. With the SeQuenC project, the BMWK is setting a new milestone on the way to a German quantum cloud and we are very pleased that we will support the research project with our quantum AI tools and our knowledge from the PlanQK quantum AI platform. For the success of quantum computing as a key technology, it will be of central importance worldwide to develop innovative and economically attractive quantum applications as cloud-enabled solutions in the future.”
Rainer Sträter, SVP Cloud Development, IONOS SE: “We are pleased to be able to offer the industry, and especially small and medium-sized businesses, access to quantum computing as part of this project. The simple execution on a quantum computer from the established providers will be just as much part of the solution as the essential pre- and postprocessing on our IONOS Cloud.”
About the University of Stuttgart
The University of Stuttgart is one of the leading technically oriented universities in Germany with global significance. The University of Stuttgart is involved in SeQuenC through the Institute for Architecture of Application Systems (IAAS), which has extensive experience in software architectures, cloud computing, hybrid software systems, platforms and quantum computing. IAAS will play an important role in the design, specification and prototypical implementation of a platform and associated tools and services that will enable DSGVO-compliant, GAIA-Xcompliant and workflow-based execution of quantum software in the cloud with unified access to existing quantum hardware. Visit IAAS at https://www.iaas.uni-stuttgart.de.
About the Fraunhofer FOKUS
Fraunhofer FOKUS researches digital transformation and its impact on society, economics and technology. Since 1988 it supports commercial enterprises and public administration in the shaping and implementation of the digital transformation. For this purpose, Fraunhofer FOKUS offers research services ranging from requirements analysis to consulting, feasibility studies, technology development right up to prototypes and pilots in the business segments Digital Public Services, Future Applications and Media, Quality Engineering, Smart Mobility, Softwarebased Networks, Networked Security, Visual Computing und Analytics. With about 460 employees in Berlin and an annual budget of 34,5 million euros, Fraunhofer FOKUS is the largest ICT institute of the Fraunhofer Society. Around 80% of its budget is generated through projects from industry and the public domain.
About IONOS
IONOS is the #1 European SMB digitalisation partner and trusted cloud enabler with 8.9 million customer contracts (as of 30 June 2022). The product portfolio offers everything that companies need to be successful in the cloud: from domains, classic websites, do-it-yourself solutions and online marketing tools to full-fledged servers and IaaS solutions. The portfolio is aimed at freelancers, small businesses, and consumers as well as enterprise customers with complex IT requirements.
IONOS is part of the listed United Internet AG (ISIN DE0005089031). The IONOS brand family includes STRATO, Arsys, Fasthosts, home.pl, InterNetX, SEDO, United Domains, we22 and World4You.
About QMware AG
QMware is a leading company in the field of hybrid quantum computing with current offices in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. QMware itself operates data centres for the first Quantum Computing Infrastructure-as-a-Service. This means that the future advantage in computing power of hybrid quantum computing is already economically tangible for QMware’s industrial partners today. QMware delivers classical high-performance computers with virtual quantum processors, which in turn can contain both classical simulators or native quantum registers. In this way, QMware integrates the best quantum technologies available on the market for highperformance computing. In this way, modern, DSGVO-compliant, as well as GAIA-Xcompatible online services can be realised with hybrid quantum computing. Visit QMware on LinkedIn and at https://www.qm-ware.com/.
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