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planqc won the Commercialising category at the 2026 Made in Europe Award, presented in Berlin on Oct. 4. The company is building neutral-atom quantum computers for DLR and LRZ, both scheduled to come online in 2027; their delivery and performance remain future milestones.
planqc won the Commercialising category at the 2026 Made in Europe Award, presented in Berlin on Oct. 4, recognizing the Munich company’s work to develop and commercialize quantum-computing technology in Europe. The award comes as planqc builds systems for the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ), both scheduled to come online in 2027.
planqc is building a 100-qubit neutral-atom computer for DLR and a 1,000-qubit system for LRZ. The LRZ machine is designed to operate as a co-processor within the center’s high-performance computing infrastructure. The company’s announcement says both systems are due to come online next year. It also says the first hardware for the LRZ system arrived earlier in October; it does not specify which components arrived or describe the systems’ current build status in detail.
The company is also developing potential quantum-computing applications with partners including Airbus, ESA, BMW and Fraunhofer. These partnerships are presented as a route toward uses in industry and science, but the announcement does not identify specific applications, report performance results, or say that any partner has deployed a finished application on a planqc machine.
The award was presented by Thomas Jarzombek, Parliamentary State Secretary at Germany’s Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and State Modernisation. planqc was among honorees from sectors including mobility, energy, health and communications. Other named recipients included TK Elevator, Siemens Energy, Opel, Doctolib and Zum goldenen Hirschen Valley. Entrepreneur Karlheinz Kögel received a lifetime achievement award.
Europe’s Quantum Supply Chain
The award puts attention on a question that goes beyond one company: whether Europe can build quantum-computing capacity through its own research, engineering and suppliers. planqc says those activities are based in Europe, drawing on expertise in lasers, photonics and vacuum technology. That claim matters because the components and technical skills needed to build a computer can shape how much of the technology and its supply chain a region controls.
The systems under construction give the award a concrete reference point, while their planned 2027 start dates leave important milestones ahead. If delivered and brought into use, the machines could give DLR and LRZ access to neutral-atom quantum hardware alongside established research and computing infrastructure. The announcement does not establish what problems the systems will solve or whether they will provide practical advantages over existing methods.
For companies and research groups considering quantum computing, the partner work may also indicate how planqc intends to connect hardware development with potential use cases. The named organizations span aerospace, automotive, space and applied research. Their involvement shows that discussions are underway; it does not by itself confirm commercial adoption, operational applications or measurable benefits.
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From Munich Research to Machines
planqc says it grew out of decades of research at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. It began in 2022 as the first spin-off of Munich Quantum Valley. The company describes its work as translating fundamental research into quantum computers for European industry and science.
The award is the second edition of the Made in Europe Award for Excellence, launched in 2025 by DUP UNTERNEHMER. According to the award announcement, its editorial team selects 50 companies each year following market analysis. The 2026 ceremony took place in Berlin on the eve of the BIG BANG KI Festival. The award recognizes companies and individuals for contributions to Europe’s economic future through innovation, entrepreneurship and technology, according to the organizers.
In its award material, planqc links the European origin of its research, engineering and supply chain to the idea of technological sovereignty. That is the company’s framing of the award and its business, rather than an independently measured assessment of the extent to which its systems or suppliers are European.
“Europe doesn’t need to import the next era of computing. It can build it.”
— Dr. Alexander Glätzle, planqc CEO and co-founder
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Delivery and Use Still Ahead
The 2027 dates are planned availability milestones, not confirmation that either computer is already operating. The announcement gives no precise commissioning schedule, technical specifications beyond qubit counts and neutral-atom architecture, or independent performance measurements. It also does not explain the status of the DLR system in the same detail as the LRZ hardware arrival.
It remains unclear which applications the partner organizations are developing, when they might be tested, and what results they could produce. The award announcement does not report contracts, revenue, customer deployments or commercial returns tied to those applications. Nor does it provide an independent assessment of how much of the systems’ components and supply chain originate in Europe.
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The 2027 Commissioning Milestones
The next major milestones are the planned completion and commissioning of the DLR and LRZ systems in 2027. Further updates from planqc and the research centers may clarify installation schedules, operating capabilities and how the LRZ machine will connect with its high-performance computing infrastructure. The arrival of initial LRZ hardware is an early step reported by the company, but the announcement does not set out a public timetable for remaining components or testing.
Progress on partner applications will be another indicator of whether the project moves from machine construction toward practical use. Details on specific workloads, trials and measured results would help show what the systems can do for industry and research. Until such information is available, the award recognizes planqc’s development effort and stated European industrial strategy, while the systems’ operational and commercial outcomes remain ahead.
high-performance quantum co-processor
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Key Questions
What award did planqc receive?
planqc won the Commercialising category at the 2026 Made in Europe Award, presented in Berlin on Oct. 4.
What quantum computers is planqc building?
The company says it is building a 100-qubit neutral-atom computer for DLR and a 1,000-qubit system for LRZ, which is intended to work as a co-processor in the center’s high-performance computing infrastructure.
When are the systems expected to come online?
planqc says both systems are due to come online in 2027. The announcement does not give exact commissioning dates.
Which organizations are working with planqc on applications?
The company names Airbus, ESA, BMW and Fraunhofer as partners in application development. It has not detailed specific applications or reported results from them.
Does the award confirm that planqc’s computers are commercially ready?
No. The award recognizes planqc in the Commercialising category, but the two announced systems are still under construction and their operational performance and commercial outcomes have not yet been reported.
Source: rss
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