EQS-News: Funding awarded for three research projects with E.ON, Siemens and European partners

Munich, 29 October 2026

• Three publicly funded research projects awarded in quantum optimization for industry and power grids and in quantum-based AI methods
• Cash inflow in the mid six-figure euro range
• Contribution to financing the further development of the Luna software platform
• Slight increase in share capital through conversion of convertible bonds

Aqarios Quantum Technologies AG announces that its wholly owned subsidiary Aqarios GmbH has been awarded funding for three publicly funded research projects: HyQInt, Q-NextGrid and IgnisQNC. Each project runs for three years, from autumn 2026 to autumn 2029. HyQInt and Q-NextGrid are funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR), IgnisQNC under the European QuantERA programme. In total, Aqarios GmbH will receive grants in the mid six-figure euro range for the three projects.

Publicly funded research projects are an established part of the business across the quantum computing industry. At Aqarios, too, they are a core part of the business model, alongside software licenses for the Luna platform and customer projects. In these projects, a consortium of companies and research institutions works on a shared challenge over several years. The funding body covers part of each partner's costs, and the partners contribute the rest themselves. For Aqarios, the projects thus help finance the further development of Luna on concrete industrial problems and connect the company with industrial partners and research institutions over the long term. In all three projects, Aqarios contributes Luna as the platform, and the applications developed in the projects subsequently become part of the Luna product.

HyQInt: optimization straight from simulation

HyQInt makes quantum optimization available directly from within industrial simulation tools, so engineers can use it without any prior knowledge of quantum computing. The consortium is led by the Institute for Factory Automation and Production Systems (FAPS) at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, with the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Systems and Device Technology (IISB) and Siemens, which contributes the industrial use case, as further partners. Luna serves as the project's platform: through it, the consortium accesses classical computers, simulators and quantum hardware from various providers via a single interface, and compares the methods in reproducible benchmarks on solution quality, runtime and cost. HyQInt also connects Luna to a BMFTR-funded software stack for the industrial use of quantum computing.

Q-NextGrid: quantum optimization for the power grid

Q-NextGrid develops advanced quantum optimization methods for grid operators, in particular for avoiding bottlenecks in the power grid and planning grid expansion. Both tasks are becoming ever more complex as renewable energy expands. The consortium is led by E.ON, with LMU Munich as a further partner. Aqarios contributes to the development of the methods, turns them into executable software and tests them on quantum hardware from various providers. The methods are integrated into Luna and also connected to a BMFTR-funded software stack for the industrial use of quantum computing.

IgnisQNC: AI methods for today's quantum computers

IgnisQNC is an international project under the European QuantERA programme developing quantum-based AI methods. The aim is to run data-driven applications on today's hardware, without full error correction. The consortium is coordinated by Lancaster University and the German consortium by LMU Munich, with TU Bergakademie Freiberg and Universidad Pablo de Olavide in Seville as further partners. Within the consortium, Aqarios is responsible for real-world applications: the company tests the methods on real quantum hardware via Luna, benchmarks them against classical reference methods and makes them available to industry through the Luna platform.

Status of conversions from convertible bonds

In the current conversion window of the issued convertible bonds (see also the ad hoc announcement of 1 July 2026), a total of 73,109 new shares have been issued to date as a result of conversions. This corresponds to 2.84 % of the increased share capital of EUR 2,573,109 in total. The maximum number of further new shares that may be issued upon conversion of the convertible bonds currently outstanding is 43,324 (approx. 1.66 % of the increased share capital of EUR 2,616,433). By the end of 2027 at the latest, any convertible bonds still outstanding will be subject to mandatory conversion into shares, unless the respective bondholders have declared conversion beforehand.

About Aqarios

Aqarios Quantum Technologies AG is a German deep-tech company and the sole owner of Aqarios GmbH, a 2021 spin-off of LMU Munich. Aqarios is a leading provider of application-oriented quantum software. Its proprietary software platform Luna combines classical optimization with quantum computing, putting both today's and tomorrow's computing technologies to work for industry. Companies in energy, finance, logistics, aerospace and manufacturing can use it to solve highly complex operational problems and make their processes more efficient, without needing quantum expertise of their own. Aqarios has already worked on applications for DAX-listed corporations and leading industrial companies such as BASF, BMW, E.ON, MTU Aero Engines, SAP, Schaeffler and Siemens, and runs them on quantum computers from several providers, including IBM, IonQ and D-Wave. Aqarios and the Luna platform have received several awards for innovation, among them the 2025 Quantum Effects Award in the category Quantum Computing Software and Algorithms at the leading trade fair of the same name in Stuttgart.