"Stardust" for quantum computers: BTU research wins the 2026 Brandenburg Innovation Prize

Quantum computers are regarded as one of the key technologies of the coming decades. They are expected to solve problems that today’s computers cannot handle, for example in drug development or in adapting to climate change. However, semiconductor quantum computers have so far lacked a key raw material: high-purity silicon-28. A process developed and patented at the BTU is set to make this material available on an industrial scale for the first time. The team behind the resulting company, quantum grade materials [qgm] GmbH, was awarded the Brandenburg Innovation Prize 2026 in the ‘NEUES.SCHAFFEN’ category at the fx.center in Potsdam. Minister Martina Klement presented the award with distinction.

What is so special about silicon-28?

Qubits, the computational units of quantum computers, can be both 0 and 1 at the same time, but even the slightest disturbance can throw them off synchronisation. Natural silicon contains the isotope silicon-29, whose nuclear spin triggers such disturbances. Isotopically pure silicon-28 does not have this nuclear spin. It therefore offers qubits a calmer environment and thus greater stability. The material is in such high demand for quantum processes that the Innovation Prize describes it as ‘stardust’. However, it is practically unavailable on the world market.

“Here, high demand meets a supply that is currently very low. To ensure technological sovereignty, we must be able to produce these critical raw materials locally,” says Dr Owen C. Ernst, a BTU scientist, co-founder and Managing Director of [qgm].

The process: patented, scalable, with no toxic waste

The [qgm] process developed at the BTU extracts high-purity silicon-28 from a raw material commonly available on the market. It is scalable and produces no toxic waste. In the medium term, the company aims to cover a large proportion of the European market for these materials.

Research at the BTU as the foundation

The foundation was laid by many years of silicon chemistry research at the BTU, ranging from etching processes and the surface engineering of solar wafers to catalytic processes for silane production. As part of the ‘HoCHQuant’ research project at the Physical Chemistry chair, led by Prof. Dr Jörg Acker, the team worked on producing isotopically pure semiconductor hydrides such as silane-28. The project ran from June 2024 at the BTU Campus Senftenberg and at Dock3 Lausitz in the Schwarze Pumpe Industrial Park. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action funded it with more than 900,000 euros as part of the EXIST Research Transfer programme. The BTU provided the chemical and safety infrastructure required for handling these substances. The Innovation Award thus also recognises the scientific achievement of the BTU, from which the process originated.

The original idea came from Dr Owen Ernst and Dr David Uebel at the Leibniz Institute for Crystal Growth (IKZ) in Berlin, where they were working on structures for quantum computers. There, they repeatedly encountered a shortage of high-purity silicon-28 and went on to further develop their project at the BTU from 2024 onwards.

“Without the laboratories, the safety technology and the specialist expertise at the BTU, we would not have been able to develop this process to market readiness. The BTU gave us the space to turn an idea into a business,” says Ernst.

From research to spin-off

The team made a strong impression early on: in 2023, they won the Lusatian Start-up Award. On 2 February 2026, Dr Owen Ernst, Anne Handschick-Ernst and Dr David Uebel founded [qgm] GmbH. Roman Brendler was also part of the project team.

“The award demonstrates how excellent research at the BTU can quickly lead to marketable innovations that are significant for Brandenburg and Europe,” adds Owen Ernst.

The BTU combines research, start-ups and regional value creation. The innovation prize highlights the achievements of the BTU’s silicon research: basic research in Lusatia is giving rise to a company with the potential to secure Europe’s technological sovereignty in quantum technology.