Munich / Aachen. As one of the most promising future
technologies, quantum computing has an enormous innovation potential.
The BMW Group will in the future support research into the future
technology of quantum computing at the RWTH Aachen University, thus
once again emphasising its leading role in the development of a
quantum ecosystem.
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Rüdiger, Rector of the RWTH Aachen University,
Alexander Buresch, CIO of BMW AG, and Dr. Stefan Floeck, Executive
Mentor of the Strategic Partnership of the BMW Group and RWTH Aachen
University and Senior Vice President Product Line MINI and BMW Compact
Class, have signed the contract for establishing the “Quantum
Information Systems” endowed chair.
The BMW Group is providing € 4.5 million over a period of six years
for professorship, equipment, and employees at the RWTH Aachen
University. A further € 1.0 million will be paid into a networking
fund that supports industrial research projects and ensures that the
chair is integrated in the university environment and in the research
centre Jülich. In the chair the use cases from the core business of
the BMW Group with a potential quantum advantage are contemplated
comprehensively in terms of industrialisation. The common higher-order
objective of the RWTH Aachen University and the BMW Group is to close
the gap between outstanding basic research in Germany and the
applicability of quantum computing in industry.
Dr. Stefan Floeck: “The BMW Group can look back on
many years of strategic partnership with the RWTH Aachen University.
The close cooperation between companies and universities is mutually
beneficial – we at the BMW Group are convinced of that. With its
excellent networked ecosystem and technological focus, the RWTH Aachen
University is the perfect home for the endowed chair, which will offer
valuable insight into the industrialisation of quantum solutions.”
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Rüdiger
: “Quantum technology is one of the major topics of
the future, with enormous innovation potential for our social
progress. With this endowed professorship, we can intensify our
research in this area. As RWTH Aachen University, we like working in
networks. We are convinced that we achieve the best solutions for
future topics through a continuous exchange of knowledge and
technology with partners from science, industry and society.”
Alexander Buresch: “The endowed chair at the RWTH
Aachen University is an important step towards the potential use of
quantum computing at the BMW Group. It creates software and
integration competencies that are necessary for the industrialisation
of the quantum computing ecosystem. Together with the Quantum
Algorithms and Applications endowed chair at the Technical University
of Munich, which we announced in June this year, we hope to unlock
potential within the automotive value chain based on an end-to-end approach.”
Another endowed chair for outstanding basic research in
Germany
Quantum computing utilises quantum mechanical
effects to accelerate computing capacity. As one of the most promising
technologies of the future, it has the potential to push the limits of
what is possible to date and revolutionise fields of application from
material research to automated driving. The technology environment in
the field of quantum computing is still only in its beginnings.
University collaborations thus offer great potential.
On 16 June of this year, the BMW Group, together with the Technical
University of Munich (TUM), already announced the establishment of the
“Quantum Algorithms and Applications” endowed chair. The BMW
Group will provide € 5.1 million over a period of six years for
professorship, equipment, and employees at TUM. The chair addresses
the development of algorithms related to use cases along the
industrial value chain.
For the BMW Group, the “Quantum Information Systems”
endowed chair at RWTH Aachen University is an important addition to
the existing chair in Munich. It contemplates use cases from the BMW
Group’s core business comprehensively in terms of industrialisation.
Software integration and industrialisation skills are being created to
implement a quantum advantage in the medium term.
The strategic partnership between the RWTH Aachen University
and the BMW Group
As one of the leading technical
universities in Europe, the RWTH Aachen University has been a
strategic partner of the BMW Group since 2017. The RWTH Innovation is
responsible for the key account management of the cooperation as the
university’s central, cross-university research and technology
transfer unit. It supports the BMW Group in networking, initiating,
and coordinating projects at the RWTH Aachen University. Dr. Stefan
Floeck, Senior Vice President Product Line MINI and BMW Compact Class,
was appointed Executive Mentor of the partnership and is thus the link
between the BMW Group and the RWTH Aachen University. His role
includes continuously developing the partnership and pressing ahead
with the cooperation.
The scientists and also the young academics at the technical
university are already cooperating closely with the development
departments of the BMW Group. The BMW Group itself provides students
with practical information on requirements from industry. This can
also be seen in the research promotion project KIZAM (Artificial
Intelligence in requirements management). Four institutes of RWTH
Aachen University, four departments of the BMW Group and four other
industrial partners are involved in research on how Artificial
Intelligence can accelerate and improve product development. The first
joint Technology Day was a highlight of the strategic partnership,
which provided a platform for dialogue between science and business in
June of this year.