📋 Tender Overview
Baden-Wurttemberg is investing around 1.3 million euros in the future of photonic artificial intelligence. It opens up enormous opportunities for innovation, competitiveness and sustainable value creation. By handing over a symbolic funding check to those responsible for the project, the Minister for Economic Affairs, Labor and Tourism marked a decisive step into the future of photonics in Baden-Wurttemberg and Europe. The project aims to advance the development and application of photonic artificial intelligence (AI) in Baden-Wurttemberg and Europe. The focus of the project is the construction of a real-world laboratory for photonic AI, which offers companies and research institutions a practical environment to develop, test and optimize AI applications and other computing-intensive processes. Photonic computing, which uses light instead of electrons to process data, enables ultra-fast, energy-efficient and scalable solutions to the challenges of modern digital technologies, particularly in the areas of AI and high-performance computing. Compared to conventional digital AI chips, photonics chips made from lithium niobate promise up to 100 times lower energy requirements. Given the enormous energy consumption that AI data centers are already causing today and forecasts that global electricity consumption could increase by 25 percent by 2030 due to AI alone, the potential of photonics chips is clear. The provision of this novel, particularly energy-efficient technology Made in Europe not only advances competitive digital solutions, but also creates important foundations for greater European independence in high-performance and AI computing technologies. Expanding competitiveness in the field of high-performance and AI computing technology Sustainability and energy efficiency are becoming increasingly important for digital technologies. The latest developments in the field of AI clearly show how strongly the need for powerful and resource-saving computing infrastructure is growing. The Photon KI II project starts right here and supports business and research in Baden-Wurttemberg and Europe in adapting to the challenges of the digital future, said Minister Dr. Hoffmeister herb. The Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor and Tourism is supporting the project as part of the platform with around 1.3 million euros from funds. This funding helps to expand European competitiveness in the area of high-performance and AI computing technology and to reduce dependencies on non-European providers. With Photon KI II we are setting an important milestone for the digital future of Baden-Wurttemberg and Europe. Photonic AI opens up enormous opportunities for innovation, competitiveness and sustainable value creation. We are pleased to be able to advance this development with our funding, said the Minister of Economics. ERDF funding in Baden-Wurttemberg In order to provide regional structural funding, Baden-Wurttemberg receives around 279 million euros from the European Union (from the . Part of the funding will be implemented as part of the platform that was launched by the EU at the beginning of March 2024. STEP is intended to support critical and emerging strategic technologies in order to strengthen the competitiveness, security and sovereignty of the EU and reduce dependencies in strategic technology areas. These include digital technologies and technology-intensive innovations (deep tech), environmentally friendly and resource-efficient technologies as well as biotechnologies. The Baden-Wurttemberg ERDF program is aligned with the Baden-Wurttemberg innovation strategy and supports the focus on future technologies and skills as well as resource and.
