➀ The Future Factory aims to establish 1,000 new startups by 2030;

➁ The initiative provides founders with direct access to funding, industry, and coaching;

➂ Participation in the BMWK’s “Startup Factories” competition offers additional funding and strengthens national competitiveness.

Several startups, including Factorial Energy, QuantumScape, and SES AI, are advancing to the sample delivery and pilot runs for semi-solid or quasi-solid-state batteries. These first-generation products are expected to enter mass production next year. Despite technical barriers, semi-solid or quasi-solid-state batteries, with a small amount of liquid electrolyte, are seen as interim options for U.S. and European automakers.

17 U.S. and European solid-state battery companies have raised over $4.2 billion in funding. Supported by programs like the US Department of Energy and the EU’s Horizon Europe initiative, some companies are already conducting vehicle integration tests with automakers.

US and European manufacturers are focusing on polymer-based or oxide-based solid electrolytes as their core technologies.

➀ The CHIPS and Science Act, aimed at strengthening U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, is under threat of repeal by the Trump administration.

➁ The Act has already attracted nearly $450 billion in private investment from leading companies, raising concerns about the impact of its repeal on the U.S. chip market.

➂ Political hurdles and legal obligations make the repeal process complex and challenging.

➀ Lumotive, a specialist in programmable optical semiconductors, has raised $45 million in a Series B funding round.

➁ The funding will be used to accelerate growth in global market expansion, data center AI infrastructure, and aerospace and defense applications.

➂ Lumotive's LCM technology enables ultra-reliable optical circuit switches for high-performance optical switching solutions.

➀ Cambridge GaN Devices (CGD) has completed a $32 million Series C funding round;

➁ British Patient Capital invested £5 million into CGD as part of the round;

➂ The funds will be used to expand CGD's operations and focus on the delivery of efficient GaN products.

➀ The UK Space Agency (UKSA) has provided Excelerate, a Welsh communications integration specialist, with a £6 million award to develop a multi-orbit, multi-beam satellite antenna.

➁ The project, known as MAMUT, is designed to allow users to choose an operator and orbit via an app, providing high-speed connectivity even in remote locations.

➂ The UKSA’s Connectivity in Low-Earth Orbit (C-LEO) programme is funding this initiative, which aims to keep the UK at the forefront of the space connectivity industry.

➀ The Kavli Foundation, the Klaus Tschira Foundation, and Kevin Wells have launched a research project to develop next-generation superconducting materials;

➁ The project will be led by Päivi Törmä of Aalto University, focusing on quantum geometry in 3D materials;

➂ Artificial intelligence will be used to predict material properties for revolutionary levels of superconductivity.

➀ Omnitron Sensors, a Los Angeles-based MEMS fabrication IP specialist, has raised $13 million in Series A funding;

➁ The investment will be used to expand the company's engineering and operations teams and accelerate the mass production of its first product, a MEMS step-scanning mirror;

➂ Omnitron's target markets include improving throughput and energy efficiency in AI data centers, advancing affordability and reliability of LiDAR in autonomous vehicles, and enhancing display quality in XR headsets/eyewear.