German Government to Provide 2 Billion Euros ($2.4B USD) for Quantum Research and Development

Two German government ministries will fund quantum R&D for a total of almost €2 billion over a five year period. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) will contribute €1.1 billion and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) will contribute €878 million. Part of the funds will be allocated to developing a competitive quantum computer in Germany within the next five years. The bulk of the BMWi funds, €740 million, will be allocated to the German Aerospace Center (DLR)  to set up two consortia with partners from industry for development of a German quantum computer and corresponding software and applications. The funding programs will follow a Quantum Computing Roadmap developed by 16 experts from business and science over the past several months. BMBF has published two funding guidelines Quantum Computer Demonstration Structures and Application Network for Quantum Computing and is encouraging associations to submit project proposals by mid-June for participation within these guidelines.

Federal Research Minister Anja Karliczek Announcing BMBF Funding at a Press Conference. Credit: BMBF

Additional information about these funding programs are available in two separate press releases (in German) from BMBF available here and from BMWi that can be viewed here.

May 14, 2021