Consortium Collaborative Research Project: Innovative Computing Systems for Solving Complex Problems

A European consortium involving physicists from Heidelberg University under the direction of Prof. Dr. Wolfram Pernice aims to advance the development of a new generation of computing systems. The researchers are working on neuromorphic computers modeled on the human brain that are designed to solve complex problems rapidly and energy-efficiently. The project, titled “Neuromorphic Quantum-Inspired Optimization and Simulation” (NEQIOS), is coordinated by the University of Twente (Netherlands). The European Innovation Council (EIC) is funding the project for five years with an EIC Pathfinder Open grant totaling approximately 3.3 million euros. Approximately 500,000 euros of this funding is going to Heidelberg University. 

With NEQIOS, the European research consortium is pursuing a fundamentally new approach to solving complex computational problems that cannot be tackled efficiently using existing digital computer architectures or current quantum computers. The participating researchers are combining innovative hardware architectures in a compact platform, including integrated photonic systems, which operate using light, and analog in-memory computing, which enables large volumes of data to be processed directly in memory. On this basis, they aim to develop neuromorphic computers that physically emulate key properties of quantum systems without relying on fragile quantum states. “Our vision is to solve complex problems using significantly less energy than conventional computers,” explains Prof. Pernice, who heads the Neuromorphic Quantumphotonics research group at Heidelberg University’s Kirchhoff Institute for Physics. The experimental physicist and his team are working in particular on photonic components. The innovative computing systems are intended for use in areas such as materials research or drug development. 

Through its Pathfinder program, the European Innovation Council supports radically new technologies with the potential to create new markets, funding visionary, high-risk projects in the early stages of development. EIC Pathfinder grants are part of Horizon Europe, the European Union’s framework program for research and innovation. Alongside the universities of Twente and Heidelberg, the NEQIOS project also involves the University of Oxford (United Kingdom), Radboud University (Netherlands), IBM Research Europe and Enlightra. The project began in the spring of 2026.