QVLS-iLabs successful in Clusters4Future programme
Up to 15 million euros from the federal government will flow into Lower Saxony’s QVLS-iLabs over the next three years. This was announced today by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The QVLS-iLabs are thus one of the seven winners of the second round of the Clusters4Future competition. “This shows: Lower Saxony’s top research also has good chances in the race for future technology thanks to outstanding networks,” says Lower Saxony’s Science Minister Björn Thümler. “Because innovation thrives on exchange.”
“The TU Braunschweig is a proud partner of the QVLS-iLabs. The Future Cluster enables us to bring our comprehensive research on nanophotonics and electronics integration effectively into application. Together with our partners in Quantum Valley Lower Saxony, we can thus help shape the second quantum revolution on a broad basis,” says Professor Angela Ittel, President of TU Braunschweig.
“With QVLS-iLabs, the BMBF is funding a strong innovation network for quantum technology. We are pleased that we can jointly bring this exciting topic into application. Quantum technology in the region is based on excellent research and infrastructure, which the state of Lower Saxony supports in the long term,” says Prof. Dr. Ospelkaus, Leibniz University Hannover and PTB Braunschweig, coordinator of the project.
“We are pleased that we can advance the transfer of quantum technology into application with QVLS-iLabs. This is happening in close cooperation with industry and on the basis of an excellent scientific environment in the Hannover-Braunschweig region,” says Dr. Nicolas Spethmann, Quantum Technology Competence Centre and QUEST Institute for Experimental Quantum Metrology, Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt.
Building the quantum technology industry
Value creation in quantum technologies is a key challenge. While the know-how is often still deep in basic research, the opportunities for industry and society are enormous. In Quantum Valley Lower Saxony (QVLS), science, industry, and politics have therefore joined forces to unfold the potential of quantum technologies in Lower Saxony. With the iLabs, QVLS has now acquired a future cluster that ensures long-term cooperation between research and industry. Future clusters are funded in three funding phases of three years each with a total of up to 45 million euros.
Often times small start-ups develop big ideas. However, if these ideas are to have a big impact, companies are needed that have the strength and stamina to lay the necessary foundations. Quantum Valley Lower Saxony now has the means to bring both together in one place. For the start-ups, the Hitech Incubator, QVLS-HTI, has been providing the necessary support for the path to industrial maturity since the beginning of July. The QVLS-iLabs, in turn, create the basis for the region’s quantum technologies to be widely applied.