03.05 Science & Technology
Quantum technologies stayed with the research ministry when it was reorganised in 2025 and became one of the six key technologies of Dorothee Bär's High-Tech Agenda. The headline goal: at least two error-corrected quantum computers at European top level in Germany by 2030. This page explains the physics in plain language, then the strategy, its milestones and its risks.
01 — The physics, briefly
At the scale of atoms, electrons and photons, nature follows the rules of quantum mechanics. Quantum technologies deliberately control those rules in engineered devices.
A classical computer stores information in bits, each of which is either 0 or 1. A qubit, the quantum counterpart, can be in a superposition — a combination of 0 and 1 at the same time, described by two numbers that set how much of each it contains and how the two parts relate. The diagram above, the Bloch sphere, is the standard picture: the north pole is 0, the south pole is 1, and every other point on the surface is a different superposition. When the qubit is measured, the superposition collapses and the result is 0 or 1 with probabilities that depend on where the arrow pointed.
Two or more qubits can also be entangled: their states are linked so that the result of measuring one tells you something about the others, however far apart they are. Superposition and entanglement together allow a quantum computer to work with a space of possibilities that grows exponentially with the number of qubits. For certain problems — simulating molecules and materials, some optimisation tasks, factoring large numbers — this could make calculations feasible that no classical machine could finish.
The catch is fragility. Qubits lose their quantum state through tiny disturbances from heat, vibration or stray fields, a process called decoherence. Today's machines make errors far too often for long calculations. The answer is quantum error correction: many imperfect physical qubits are combined so that together they behave as one more reliable logical qubit. Building logical qubits that actually perform better than their components is the central engineering challenge of the field — and exactly what Germany's goals are about.
Either 0 or 1. Copyable, stable, the basis of every classical computer.
A superposition of both, until measured. Cannot be copied.
Linked states of several qubits; the resource behind quantum speed-ups and secure communication.
Many physical qubits plus error correction, acting as one reliable qubit.
02 — Applications
“Quantum technology” covers three distinct families. They are at very different stages of maturity, which matters for any realistic strategy.
Machines that run algorithms on qubits. Promising for chemistry, materials science, logistics and cryptography, but useful large-scale machines require error correction that has not yet been achieved at scale.
Maturity: research and early prototypes; the focus of the government's flagship goal.
Devices that use the extreme sensitivity of quantum states to measure magnetic fields, gravity, time or rotation with very high precision — for medical imaging, navigation without satellites or geological surveys.
Maturity: the closest to market; some sensors and atomic clocks are already in use.
Methods such as quantum key distribution (QKD), in which any attempt to intercept a key disturbs the quantum states and is detectable. Over long distances this requires satellites.
Maturity: demonstrated; networks and satellites are being built.
03 — Germany's strategy
Germany has funded quantum research for decades, with strong groups at universities, Max Planck institutes, Fraunhofer and Helmholtz centres. The present strategy has three layers.
The action plan. The previous government's Handlungskonzept Quantentechnologien covers 2023 to 2026. According to federal government information, it foresees around €3bn in federal funding. This figure comes from a single government summary and is reported here with that caveat.
The High-Tech Agenda. Political position Adopted by cabinet on 30 July 2025, it makes quantum one of six key technologies, with the flagship goal of “at least two error-corrected quantum computers at European top level” in Germany by 2030. For 2025 the government named the goal of putting Germany's first research satellite for quantum communication into operation.
The roadmap. Verified fact On 20 May 2026 Bär presented the first six technology roadmaps, including quantum, to the Bundestag's research committee, followed by a six-week public consultation. The milestones are listed on the right.
According to roadmap information reported in 2026, science–industry consortia to build quantum computers are to form in the fourth quarter of 2026, and the federal funding database lists a competition for error-corrected quantum computing with up to €20m per project. Both points rest on single sources and may change.
Federal action plan of the previous government (around €3bn, per government information).
Quantum named a key technology; goal of two error-corrected quantum computers by 2030.
Presented to the research committee; public consultation follows.
Science–industry teams to build quantum computers.
Error-corrected qubits demonstrated on German hardware.
At least three data centres operating quantum computers.
The High-Tech Agenda's flagship goal, plus 25 new quantum professorships.
A demonstrated advantage over classical computers.
04 — Hardware
There is no single way to build a qubit. According to roadmap information, Germany intends to pursue three hardware platforms in parallel.
| Platform | What the qubit is | Typical strengths | Typical difficulties |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ion traps | Electrically charged atoms held in place by electromagnetic fields and controlled with lasers | Very high-quality operations; qubits are identical by nature | Comparatively slow operations; scaling to many ions |
| Neutral atoms | Uncharged atoms held in arrays by focused laser beams (“optical tweezers”) | Large arrays of qubits; flexible arrangement | Operation fidelity and atom loss |
| Superconducting qubits | Tiny electrical circuits cooled close to absolute zero | Fast operations; builds on chip-manufacturing techniques | Extreme cooling; wiring and crosstalk as systems grow |
Analysis Backing several platforms is a hedge. Internationally, leading companies and laboratories are split between these and other approaches (such as photonic or spin qubits), and it is not yet clear which will scale best. Supporting three keeps options open but spreads money across more teams.
QUBE-II is a CubeSat project of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) to test quantum key distribution from space. CubeSats are small, standardised satellites; using one for QKD tests whether quantum-secured keys can be exchanged between orbit and ground. The project links the quantum and space portfolios that now sit in the same ministry, and connects to the High-Tech Agenda's 2025 goal of putting a research satellite for quantum communication into operation.
05 — Europe and the challenges
Quantum is a field in which the United States and China invest heavily through government programmes and large technology companies. Germany's plans sit inside a European framework.
The European Union launched its Quantum Technologies Flagship in 2018, a long-term research programme that funds collaborative projects across member states. European initiatives also aim to install quantum computers alongside supercomputers and to build a secure quantum communication infrastructure. Germany's national goals are meant to give it a leading role in these programmes rather than to compete with them. See European technology policy.
Analysis The milestones assume that error correction keeps improving on schedule. No ministry can guarantee this. Logical qubits by 2028 and a quantum advantage by 2032 are ambitious but not implausible targets given international progress; slippage would not necessarily mean policy failure.
Quantum engineers are scarce worldwide. The roadmap's 25 new quantum professorships by 2030 address training, and the 1000 Köpfe Plus programme, described on the research policy page, aims to recruit researchers from abroad. Professorships, however, are mostly created by universities and the Länder, so the federal goal depends on their cooperation.
Germany has quantum start-ups and established companies in lasers, optics and cryogenics that supply the field. The roadmap's science–industry consortia and the goal of quantum computers in data centres are meant to move the technology from physics laboratories to users. Whether German companies will be builders or merely customers of quantum computers is one of the open strategic questions. See innovation.
Quantum is a dual-use field. A large quantum computer could break widely used encryption, which is why governments are moving to “post-quantum” cryptography, and quantum sensors have military applications. This makes quantum research a natural concern of the National Platform for Research Security agreed in December 2025.
Criticism The Greens' research spokesperson Ayse Asar has argued that the government talks about roadmaps and dialogue formats without being able to say what effect the money has. Quantum, with its precise dated milestones, will be one of the clearest tests of that criticism. See the High-Tech Agenda page for the full debate.
Research baseline: 7 October 2026. External links open in a new tab.