Quantum Computing: Opportunities for Industry and Business
7 Min. read time
In recent years, Germany has invested nearly three billion euros in quantum computing. 2025 marked the first year in which research promises evolved into real-world economic projects-with a Munich-based startup winning the German Founders’ Award, Europe’s fastest supercomputer in Jülich, and an industry consortium tackling concrete logistics and mobility challenges. But how close is the economic breakthrough, really?
Key Takeaways
- The German government is funding quantum technologies with around three billion euros through 2026-one of the largest public quantum computing programs worldwide.
- Munich-based startup planqc won the 2025 German Founders’ Award and is building a 1,000-qubit computer at the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre.
- IQM Quantum Computers (Munich/Espoo) aims to go public in 2026 as Europe’s first quantum computing company-valued at 1.8 billion dollars.
- JUPITER in Jülich has been Europe’s fastest supercomputer since September 2025 and is being paired with a D-Wave quantum computer.
- German corporations like BMW, Volkswagen, and SAP are collaborating in the QUTAC consortium on practical applications.
What Actually Happened in 2025
The United Nations declared 2025 the International Year of Quantum Science-100 years after the foundational work that made quantum mechanics possible. But while science and politics celebrate, decision-makers in German companies are asking a different question: When will quantum computing start making-or saving-money?
The honest answer: Not tomorrow, but sooner than many think. And those who don’t start preparing their organizations today will be playing catch-up in three to five years.
Germany’s public quantum strategy is particularly noteworthy. The federal government has earmarked around three billion euros through 2026 for quantum technologies-distributed across multiple ministries, with the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as the largest funder. The goal: technological sovereignty, a homegrown ecosystem of research and industry, and ultimately a competitive universal quantum computer “Made in Germany.”
Whether this goal will be fully achieved by 2026 is up for debate. What isn’t debatable: The ecosystem is real, and the first economically relevant projects are underway.
Germany’s Key Players: Who’s Building What
Three companies stand out in Germany’s quantum ecosystem-not just for their research, but because they’re already delivering-or about to.
planqc (Garching near Munich) emerged in 2022 as the first spin-off from the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, born from the Munich Quantum Valley Initiative. The company develops quantum processors based on neutral atoms-an approach distinct from the superconducting chips used by major U.S. players, and theoretically more scalable.
In July 2024, planqc closed a €50 million Series A round, led by CATRON Holding and DTCF, with participation from Bayern Kapital and the BMBF. By late 2024, the company secured a €20 million grant for a project at the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ) in Garching: By around 2027, a universally programmable quantum system with over 1,000 qubits is set to be operational. In 2025, planqc won the German Startup Award as the year’s best new venture.
At the same time, planqc is collaborating with consulting firm d-fine in the DLR’s QCMobility program, tackling real-world optimization challenges in intermodal freight transport-precisely the kind of high-complexity planning tasks where classical computers hit their limits.
IQM Quantum Computers maintains its European development hub in Munich (headquartered in Espoo, Finland). The company builds superconducting quantum processors and, in September 2025, closed a Series B round worth roughly €315 million. Its valuation surpassed $1 billion. By February 2026, IQM announced plans to go public via a SPAC deal on the Nasdaq-at a valuation of $1.8 billion. If successful, this would mark the first IPO of a European quantum computing company.
Forschungszentrum Jülich has operated JUPITER, Europe’s fastest supercomputer, since September 2025. JUPITER ranks fourth on the global TOP500 list and is the first European system to break the exaFLOP barrier. In February 2025, the center integrated a D-Wave annealing quantum computer, which will soon be directly coupled with JUPITER. The implication? Hybrid computing-classical high-performance systems and quantum processors working in tandem on the same calculations. This isn’t just theory anymore; it’s infrastructure.
“Industrial applications of quantum computing are still in their early stages-but those who don’t invest in preparation today will miss the window of opportunity.”
– BMW Group, Quantum Computing Annual Report 2025
QUTAC: When DAX Giants Collaborate on Quantum
The Quantum Technology and Application Consortium (QUTAC) demonstrates how Germany’s corporate heavyweights are approaching quantum computing: through collaboration, not competition-because the market is still too nascent for proprietary silos.
Founding members include BASF, BMW Group, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bosch, Infineon, Merck, Munich Re, SAP, Siemens, and Volkswagen. Deutsche Telekom and Lufthansa Industry Solutions have since joined. The consortium developed a QC Monitor-a model with 24 regularly updated indicators to track progress in industrial quantum applications.
BMW leverages QUTAC for projects in materials science, aerodynamics simulation, and robotic path planning. Active partnerships include Classiq and Nvidia (for drivetrain and cooling system optimization) and Airbus (Quantum Computing Challenge). Deutsche Telekom is working on quantum algorithms for network optimization and quantum cryptography platforms.
BMW’s candid assessment? Industrially relevant results are still pending-but the direction is clear.
The Elephant in the Room: Post-Quantum Cryptography
While most discussions about quantum computing revolve around the “When will the breakthrough happen?” narrative, there’s one quantum topic that’s already relevant for every organization today: post-quantum cryptography (PQC).
Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) has taken a clear stance: traditional asymmetric encryption should be replaced by quantum-resistant methods by the end of 2031. The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has already standardized the first post-quantum algorithms in 2024: FIPS-203, FIPS-204, and FIPS-205. The BSI, together with 17 European partners, has called for the most sensitive applications to be migrated by 2030.
The problem? “Harvest now, decrypt later.” State actors and well-resourced attackers can intercept and store encrypted data today-expecting to decrypt it with a future quantum computer. Health records, contracts, intellectual property encrypted with RSA or ECC today could be readable in ten years.
That means the deadline isn’t 2031. The deadline is now. Organizations handling sensitive data with long protection requirements-banks, insurers, pharmaceutical companies, government agencies-must start auditing their cryptographic systems today. This isn’t a quantum computing project. It’s basic IT security hygiene.
What Decision-Makers Can Do Right Now
Quantum computing isn’t an issue executives can delegate to R&D and revisit in five years. McKinsey estimates investments in quantum tech startups reached $2.0 billion in 2024-a 50% increase from the previous year. Those who start now gain a knowledge edge that pays off.
Three actionable steps:
1. Start a cryptography audit. Which systems in your organization use RSA or elliptic curves? Which data requires long-term protection? These are the critical points for PQC migration. BSI and NIST have published guidelines-the migration itself takes years, not months.
2. Monitor the QUTAC approach. This consortium model shows how companies can build quantum expertise together without bearing the full R&D costs alone. Industry associations, chambers of commerce, and research institutions offer similar entry points-especially for SMEs.
3. Identify use cases. Quantum computers solve certain optimization problems more efficiently than classical systems-route planning, portfolio optimization, molecular simulations. Knowing your own optimization challenges lets you evaluate pilot projects strategically.
The mistake would be waiting for the “big breakthrough” and then reacting. The competitive advantage isn’t in the quantum computer itself-it’s in understanding early where it becomes relevant.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will quantum computers be usable for regular businesses?
For specific optimization challenges-logistics, financial portfolios, molecular simulations-functional pilot projects already exist today. Universally applicable quantum computers aren’t expected until at least the mid-to-late 2030s. Still, now is the time to get started-through cryptography migration and application scouting.
What is post-quantum cryptography, and why is it urgent?
PQC refers to encryption methods that remain secure even against quantum computer attacks. Germany’s BSI recommends replacing classical asymmetric encryption by 2031. The urgency stems from “harvest now, decrypt later”-attackers are already collecting encrypted data for future decryption. NIST adopted the first official PQC standards in 2024.
How does Germany’s quantum approach differ from the U.S.?
U.S. players like IBM, Google, and IonQ focus heavily on superconducting qubits and rapid scaling. German startups such as planqc are experimenting with neutral atoms-a potentially more scalable approach. Additionally, Germany prioritizes consortia and public funding, aiming for technological sovereignty.
How can mid-sized companies enter quantum computing without in-house QC expertise?
The easiest entry point is a cryptography audit-no quantum expertise required, just standard IT security know-how. For further guidance, the Fraunhofer Quantum Computing Competence Network and local Chambers of Commerce (IHK) offer support. Cloud providers like IBM Quantum (via Fraunhofer Ehningen) or Microsoft Azure Quantum enable initial pilot experiments without dedicated hardware.
Further Reading
- Cybersecurity Boom: Why NIS2 is turning Germany’s security sector into an export hit
- AI Made in Germany: 935 startups and an ecosystem coming of age
- Europe’s Chip Push: What Germany’s semiconductor dream looks like after Intel’s exit
Source header image: Pachon in Motion / Pexels
Image source: Pachon in Motion / Pexels
