Bosch partners with IBM on quantum computing
- Dr. Stefan Hartung: “For Bosch, digitalization presents major opportunities in all areas of business.”
- By 2025: 10 billion euros for digitalization and connectivity.
- Focus also on education and training.
- Electromobility: quantum-based materials simulation also focuses on carbon-neutral powertrains.
- Sustainability: Bosch startup Decarbonize Industries offers solutions for companies looking to decarbonize.
- Bosch as a software employer: 40,000 IT experts working in the company.
Berlin, Germany – Bosch remains on the offensive in its digital transformation: by 2025, the supplier of technology and services will have invested 10 billion euros in digitalization and connectivity. Two-thirds of this will go toward developing and expanding promising new technologies, with a focus on sustainability, mobility, and Industry 4.0. “For Bosch, digitalization presents major opportunities in all areas of business,” said Dr. Stefan Hartung, chairman of the Bosch board of management, at this year’s Bosch Connected World (BCW) AIoT industry conference in Berlin. “In addition to promising new technologies, we will be investing in vocational training and professional development for our associates – since they are the key to technology that is ‘Invented for life’ both today and tomorrow,” Hartung said. For the technology of the more distant future, Hartung also announced that Bosch is partnering with IBM, a U.S.-based technology company, in the field of quantum computing. Bosch’s goal is to use quantum computing simulation of materials to find surrogates for the precious metals and rare earths in carbon-neutral powertrains – in the electric motor and the fuel cell – in the next ten years.
“For Bosch, digitalization presents major opportunities in all areas of business”said Dr. Stefan Hartung, chairman of the Bosch board of management, at this year’s Bosch Connected World (BCW) AIoT industry conference in Berlin.
Search for sustainable solutions is accelerating
Bosch brings its many years of experience in the simulation of materials that are especially important for industrial applications to the collaboration. In return, the supplier of technology and services will gain access to IBM’s fleet of more than twenty advanced quantum computers available over the IBM cloud. With the help of future generations of quantum computers, Bosch aims to determine the properties of new materials in ways that would be impractical on conventional computers in terms of time or complexity: As quantum computer performance improves in the more distant future, it may be possible to draw conclusions on specific properties of new materials in a fraction of the time that is needed on conventional computers. The work on quantum algorithms for exploring use cases of interest will involve research by experts from both Bosch and IBM. “We share our experience in simulating materials for very specific application areas with IBM and in return we gain deeper insights into the power and applicability of quantum computing including hardware. Together, we are taking quantum simulation to the next level and are gaining a competitive edge internationally,” Hartung said. In addition to new materials for fuel cells, Bosch is also interested in new magnets for electric motors that are lighter, more compact, more efficient, and more readily available. Such new materials promise to be more environmentally friendly than rare earths.
Quantum technologies crucial for technological sovereignty
When it comes to software for quantum computers, science and industry in Germany occupy a strong position in global competition with the U.S. and China. Market research institutes see great potential in the technology. The Boston Consulting Group estimates that the market for quantum computing, including new products and services, will be worth as much as 850 billion dollars in the next 15 to 30 years. The forecasts for the field of quantum sensor technology are also promising: McKinsey expects this market to grow to as much as 7 billion dollars in the years ahead. “Quantum technology is crucial for Europe’s technological sovereignty. It’s important that we don’t leave it to other regions to develop on their own, but instead open up industrial areas of application and develop business models without delay,” Hartung said.
Bosch currently has some 30 experts working in the fields of quantum sensor technology and quantum computing. Since the beginning of this year, a Bosch startup has been working to accelerate the commercialization of quantum sensors. Bosch has been conducting research in this area for years and plays a leading role internationally. Like quantum computers, quantum sensors also have immense potential. They achieve unprecedented precision compared to conventional MEMS (microelectromechanical system) sensors. In the foreseeable future, it will be possible to use them to achieve a measurement accuracy that is 1,000 times greater. In medicine, for example, quantum sensors will be able to help diagnose neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s more accurately and easily. They will also be able to sense nerve impulses, and in this way move medical prostheses and enable control purely by thought in virtual realities. “Through our activities in quantum sensors and partnering with IBM in our research, we are creating technology that is ‘Invented for life’ in its very best sense,” Hartung said.
Sustainability is just a mouse-click away
The partnership with IBM underscores the importance that alliances have for Bosch’s digital transformation: they are a way to pool the forces required for the rapid and successful development of promising areas. To leverage the opportunities of digitalization and play an active role in shaping the connected world, Bosch is also systematically recruiting associates with in-depth IT and software expertise. Currently, the company has around 40,000 software experts working in many areas of future importance. The associates at the new Bosch startup Decarbonize Industries, for example, are developing a software solution that helps industrial enterprises achieve carbon neutrality. The solution will be a platform, jointly developed by Bosch and the energy supplier EWE AG, which will draw on current data from the energy market, legislation, and other sources to show companies the optimum route to greater sustainability. If parameters such as government subsidies or energy prices change, the proposed measures are automatically adjusted. As a result, a roadmap for a more sustainable future is just a mouse-click away.
