On Monday, October 14, 2026, the Research and Innovation Factory AI & Microelectronics was officially opened in Cottbus as a long-term structure for research in artificial intelligence and microelectronics. The initiative begins with AI-DISCO, the first approved module, which has been underway since February 2026. Through early 2030, seven research and industry partners will investigate a platform for energy-efficient, distributed AI processing. The Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) is funding AI-DISCO with €15 million under the Structural Development Act; the project is led by IHP – Leibniz Institute for High Performance Microelectronics.

Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space Dorothee Bär explains the project's significance for Germany as a technology hub:

“Here in Cottbus, a model for modern technology policy is taking shape. Over the long term, the Research and Innovation Factory will build expertise in artificial intelligence and microelectronics—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 use AI across decentralized, interconnected nodes rather than on mainframe computers. This combines technological advancement with structural development: the funding strengthens Lusatia as an innovation hub while creating strategic capabilities for Germany’s industrial base. Projects like this bring our High-Tech Agenda Germany to life. By developing our own energy-efficient AI chips, we aim to reinforce Germany’s position as the No. 1 semiconductor manufacturing location.”

Brandenburg’s Minister of Science, Research and Culture, Dr. Manja Schüle, opened the initiative together with Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gerhard Kahmen, Scientific and Technical Managing Director of IHP. For the state, the initiative also contributes to structural transformation in Lusatia:

“AI-DISCO is creating something in Cottbus that goes far beyond a single research project: the project aims to combine artificial intelligence and microelectronics and develop sensors that can perform computations themselves. This makes industrial systems faster, more energy-efficient and less dependent on remote data centers. I find it particularly exciting that the researchers are using neuromorphic computing, that is, chips modeled on the human brain. We are deliberately placing cutting-edge research and high technology at the heart of structural transformation in Lusatia. What is being built here is not a consolation prize for a former coal region, but a location where tomorrow’s technologies are developed—with European ambitions. If sensors are able to think independently in the future, people should know where they learned to do so: in Lusatia.”

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gerhard Kahmen explains what this means for the location: “Bringing microelectronics and artificial intelligence together opens up applications that neither discipline can achieve on its own—in manufacturing, in edge-cloud systems and in chip design itself. To do this, we are pooling our expertise in the R+I Factory. With its thematic focus, the R+I Factory makes an important contribution to further sharpening the profile and visibility of Cottbus as a research and development hub.”

Specifically, the partners are researching edge nodes whose AI processing is based on neuromorphic circuits and draws on findings from neurobiology. They are also investigating federated learning methods, in which the cloud pretrains the nodes rather than collecting all data, as well as the security and resilience of distributed systems. Because the nodes often run on batteries, energy is the scarcest resource.

The technology is being tested in several application areas. In energy systems, spatially distributed sensors are intended to detect deviations in the operation of wind and solar power systems earlier, without sending all measurement data to a data center. Other fields include Industry 4.0, medical technology and agriculture, 6G communications, smart cities and critical infrastructure.

ABB illustrates the benefits expected by industry partners using automation technology as an example:

“In automation, decisions are made in fractions of a second. If analysis does not take place until the data reaches a data center, it is too late. That is why AI-DISCO’s approach—having AI compute directly within the system—is particularly relevant to us.”

Dr. Martin Handreg, Automation Manager, ABB

For Cottbus, the initiative also means growth: AI-DISCO brings two new research institutions to the city—the Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology (LIN) and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). At the same time, the R+I Factory expands the cooperation network at the Lusatia Science Park and Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, whose president, Prof. Dr. Gesine Grande, spoke at the launch event.

The consortium partners are IHP – Leibniz Institute for High Performance Microelectronics as consortium leader, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, DFKI – German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence, Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS, LIN – Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, and the companies ABB and ENERTRAG.

Dr. Sebastian Meyer, head of the ISS division at Fraunhofer IPMS in Cottbus, explains: “At its Cottbus site, Fraunhofer IPMS combines semiconductor expertise in ferroelectric memory devices with its own intelligent sensor technologies, including ultrasonic and spectral sensors, to create energy-efficient AI hardware. Together with partners such as ABB and ENERTRAG, we are testing this hardware in demonstrators for industry, agriculture, medical technology and smart cities.”