Ostfalia is participating in the Lower Saxony microelectronics network Nitride Technology Centre (NTC) and is contributing its expertise to the development of a new type of neuromorphic computer. The joint project is entitled "Bringing Light to Microelectronics" (BRIGHT) and is being funded by the state of Lower Saxony and the Volkswagen Foundation with around 15 million euros. The aim of the project is to significantly reduce the energy consumption of AI applications and thus enable more powerful and sustainable AI systems.
Four partners, one vision: neuromorphic hardware
In addition to Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences, the Technical University of Braunschweig, Leibniz Universität Hannover and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt are involved in the research alliance. Together, the partners are pursuing the vision of developing neuromorphic hardware that no longer simulates neuronal networks exclusively on a software basis, but instead maps them directly at hardware level.
At the centre of the project are microscopically small LEDs, which serve as the building blocks of a new type of computer design. Their properties enable highly parallel networking, comparable to neuronal structures. In the future, this approach could help to implement typical AI applications such as pattern recognition in a more energy-efficient way.
BRIGHT brings together the necessary specialist disciplines
The Ostfalia team's research is being funded with around 800,000 euros over a period of five years. Prof. Christian Werner, project manager at Ostfalia, emphasises the importance of the project: "Even more powerful and, above all, sustainable AI solutions will finally be possible thanks to microLED computers. BRIGHT will make a significant contribution to bringing together the specialist disciplines required for this and permanently anchoring the relevant expertise here in Lower Saxony.university
The project starts on 1 April 2026 and is scheduled to run for five years until 2031. With this funding, the state of Lower Saxony and the Volkswagen Foundation are sending a strong signal in favour of the further development of energy-efficient microelectronics and the sustainable design of future AI infrastructures.