R+I Factory research initiative launched in Cottbus

The Research and Innovation Factory AI & Microelectronics was officially opened today in Cottbus; it is a long-term facility dedicated to research into artificial intelligence and Microelectronics. The first module to be launched is AI-DISCO, which has been running since February 2026. Seven partners from the research and industrial sectors will be working within this framework until early 2030 to develop a platform for energy-efficient, distributed AI processing. The Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) is funding AI-DISCO with 15 million euros under the Structural Strengthening Act; the project is led by the IHP – Leibniz-Institute for Innovations for High Performance Electronics.

“‘Artificial Intelligence and Sensor Technology’ is a key interdisciplinary focus area at our university. Together with the IHP, we are taking this research focus to a new level with the AI-DISCO project as part of the Research & Innovation Factory,” says BTU President Prof. Gesine Grande. “The project facilitates new, promising connections between
non-university and university research. Renowned scientific institutions are coming to our campus and will enrich and strengthen the Lausitz Science Network and the Lausitz Science Park with their insights and expertise.”

Dorothee Bär, Federal Minister for Research, Technology and Space, describes the project’s significance for Germany as a technology hub as follows:

“Here in Cottbus, a model for modern technology policy is taking shape. The Research and Innovation Factory will build up expertise in artificial intelligence and Microelectronics over the long term – from Industry 4.0 to medicine – and thus make an important contribution to the technological sovereignty of Germany and Europe. With its first module, AI-DISCO, the initiative is researching ways to utilise AI via decentralised, interconnected nodes rather than on mainframe computers. This represents both the technological future and structural development in one: the funding strengthens Lusatia as a centre of innovation whilst simultaneously creating strategic capabilities for Germany as an industrial hub. Our ‘High-Tech Agenda for Germany’ takes concrete shape in examples such as these. Through our own energy-efficient AI chip developments, we aim to consolidate Germany’s position as the number one chip production hub.”

Brandenburg’s Minister for Science, Research and Culture, Dr Manja Schüle, launched the initiative together with Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gerhard Kahmen, Scientific and Technical Manager of the IHP. For the state, this represents a contribution to structural change in Lusatia:

With AI-DISCO, something is taking shape in Cottbus that goes far beyond a single research project: the project aims to combine artificial intelligence and Microelectronics and to develop sensors that perform their own computations. This makes industrial systems faster, more energy-efficient and less reliant on remote Computing Centres. I find it particularly exciting that the researchers are focusing on neuromorphic computing – in other words, chips modelled on the way our brain works. We are thus deliberately prioritising cutting-edge research and high-tech as the driving force behind structural change in Lusatia. What is being built here is not merely a consolation prize for a former coal-mining region. Rather, it is a centre where the technologies of tomorrow are being developed – with European standards. If sensors are able to think for themselves in the future, then people should know where they learnt to do so: in Lusatia.”

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gerhard Kahmen summarises what this means for the region as follows:

“Bringing Microelectronics and artificial intelligence together opens up applications that neither discipline could achieve on its own – in manufacturing, in edge-cloud systems, and in chip design itself. To this end, we are pooling our expertise at the R+I Factory. With its focus on these areas, the R+I Factory makes an important contribution to further raising the profile and visibility of Cottbus as a centre for research and development.”

Specifically, the partners are researching edge nodes whose AI processing is based on neuromorphic circuits and guided by insights from neurobiology. This is complemented by federated learning methods, in which the cloud pre-trains the nodes rather than collecting all the data, as well as addressing issues of security and reliability in distributed systems. As the nodes often run on battery power, energy is the most limited resource.

This is being tested across several application areas. In energy systems, spatially distributed sensor networks are intended to detect anomalies in the operation of wind and solar power plants at an earlier stage, without all measurement data having to be sent to a Computing Centre. Other areas include Industry 4.0, medical technology and agriculture, 6G communications, as well as smart cities and critical infrastructure.

ABB highlights the benefits that industrial partners expect in the field of Automation Technology:

 “In automation, decisions are made in fractions of a second. If the analysis only takes place in the Computing Centre, it comes too late. That is why we are interested in AI-DISCO: the AI performs calculations directly within the plant.”
Dr Martin Handreg, Automation Manager, ABB

For the Cottbus site, the initiative means growth: as part of AI-DISCO, two new research institutions are joining – the Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology (LIN) and the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). At the same time, the R+I Factory is expanding the cooperation network at the Lausitz Science Park and the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, whose President, Prof. Dr Gesine Grande, spoke at the launch event.

The consortium comprises the Leibniz-Institute for Innovations for High Performance Electronics as consortium leader, the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, the DFKI – German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence, the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS, the LIN – Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, and the companies ABB and ENERTRAG. 

About the R+I Factory
The Research and Innovation Factory AI & Microelectronics (R+I Factory) is a modular research and innovation project at the interface between artificial intelligence and Microelectronics in Lusatia. Under its umbrella, research institutions and companies are pooling their work on Intelligent Systems and the hardware on which these systems run; further modules will be added gradually.

About the IHP:
The IHP – Leibniz-Institute for Innovations for High Performance Electronics in Frankfurt (Oder) conducts research into silicon-based solutions for microelectronics and nanoelectronics. In doing so, the IHP covers the entire value chain, from fundamental research through to application-oriented prototypes and small-batch production. Key research areas include new materials and components, semiconductor technologies, and ultra-high-frequency circuits and Systems for fields of application such as communications, industry, mobility, aerospace, security and medicine. The institute operates its own cleanroom infrastructure under industry-standard conditions and offers cooperation partners from academia and industry access to advanced, world-leading BiCMOS technologies. The IHP is a member of the Leibniz Association and employs over 400 Staff Members. It receives institutional funding jointly from the Federal Government and the State of Brandenburg.