Tel Aviv Quantum Hub Announces Cross-Border Logistics AI Project with Germany
August 14, 2024
In a landmark step for transnational quantum research, the Tel Aviv Quantum Innovation Hub has announced a three-year cross-border R&D partnership with Germany’s prestigious Fraunhofer Institute. The initiative, unveiled on August 14, 2024, will focus on building and testing quantum-AI co-processing systems to improve the resilience and efficiency of global supply chains.
The program is jointly funded by the Israel Innovation Authority and Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), with implementation involving both Israeli and German tech labs, logistics providers, and AI specialists. According to the announcement, the partnership will target specific use cases including:
Demand forecasting under uncertainty
AI-enhanced customs pre-clearance modeling
Cross-border and intermodal freight risk assessments
The initiative reflects a broader trend toward EU-MENA (Middle East-North Africa) scientific collaboration, particularly in domains like quantum infrastructure, logistics automation, and AI-driven trade resilience. With supply chains still vulnerable to geopolitical tensions, inflationary shocks, and port congestion, this project aims to use quantum-classical hybrid computing to create smarter, adaptive logistics frameworks.
Background: Quantum Meets Logistics in a Global Context
The Tel Aviv Quantum Innovation Hub—established in 2022—has quickly become a regional leader in quantum technology. Operating under Israel’s Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, the hub was designed to foster commercial quantum applications in artificial intelligence, cryptography, and network optimization.
Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute, meanwhile, is one of Europe’s most respected applied science organizations. Its Quantum Computing Research division has already launched projects in quantum chemistry, materials optimization, and supply chain modeling, often in partnership with firms like IBM and SAP.
The two organizations are now uniting their expertise to explore how quantum-enhanced machine learning (QML) can solve three of logistics' most persistent problems:
Accurate demand forecasting in volatile markets
Faster, smarter customs clearance for cross-border shipping
Multimodal freight risk prediction across land, air, and sea
“We’re not looking at abstract theory. We’re looking at quantum as a tool to solve real-time problems in trade and transport,” said Dr. Eli Marcus, Director of Research at the Tel Aviv Quantum Hub. “This partnership brings together Germany’s industrial rigor and Israel’s innovation agility.”
Use Case #1: Quantum-Enhanced Demand Forecasting
One of the first areas the joint team will tackle is demand forecasting under uncertainty—a notoriously difficult problem during global disruptions like pandemics, war, or rapid market shifts.
By using quantum-classical hybrid models, researchers aim to improve accuracy and reduce the need for conservative inventory padding. The project will integrate quantum-enhanced neural networks trained on historical demand, supplier behavior, and macroeconomic indicators.
“In logistics, 80% of the cost is often in the last 20% of predictability,” noted Dr. Helena Klein, logistics AI lead at Fraunhofer. “Quantum methods help us map the probabilistic space far more efficiently than classical models.”
Partners including Siemens Logistics will provide anonymized supply chain data to validate the forecasting models under live test conditions.
Use Case #2: AI for Customs Pre-Clearance
The second focus area is smart customs pre-clearance modeling, a pain point that delays trillions of dollars’ worth of global trade each year. Traditional customs systems struggle to balance security, compliance, and speed—especially in volatile trade regions.
The joint Israel-Germany team plans to test quantum-enhanced classification algorithms that can pre-score cargo manifests for customs authorities, identifying potential red flags or fast-track clearance opportunities in advance.
ZIM Integrated Shipping Services, Israel’s largest cargo shipping firm, has agreed to participate in a pilot program where quantum-AI engines will process simulated customs declarations, identifying high-risk shipments based on origin, item type, and historical inspection patterns.
“Customs isn’t just paperwork—it’s a bottleneck that ripples across the supply chain,” said Yifat Azoulay, CTO of ZIM. “If we can use quantum tools to triage risk in real time, that’s a game-changer.”
Use Case #3: Intermodal Freight Risk Assessment
Intermodal shipping—where cargo moves between ships, trucks, trains, and even drones—adds complexity at every link. Small delays can cascade into massive delivery failures.
The R&D team will use quantum reinforcement learning (QRL) to model freight movement as a dynamic, probabilistic system, simulating how events like weather changes, border closures, or strikes ripple across transportation modes.
Fraunhofer’s logistics division has already developed a digital twin of the Rotterdam–Haifa–Dubai freight corridor, which will now be upgraded to integrate quantum simulation tools.
“The digital twin allows us to simulate hundreds of ‘what-if’ scenarios and let the quantum-enhanced agent choose the optimal intermodal strategy,” said Dr. Jens Mahler, quantum logistics researcher at Fraunhofer.
This could be critical for shippers in volatile regions or during periods of disrupted ocean freight availability.
Pilot Phase and Industry Integration
The project will roll out in three stages over its three-year span:
Year 1 (2024–2025):
Develop initial QML prototypes
Begin training AI on anonymized logistics data
Simulate customs workflows with quantum classifiers
Year 2 (2025–2026):
Launch limited field trials with ZIM and Siemens Logistics
Integrate with operational logistics dashboards for side-by-side testing
Evaluate QRL models for adaptive intermodal routing
Year 3 (2026–2027):
Publish white papers and open-source select algorithms
Explore policy frameworks for quantum-enhanced trade tools
Plan commercial scaling across European and MENA supply chains
The Israel Innovation Authority has already earmarked additional funding to help Israeli startups plug into the project via open APIs, particularly in AI interpretability, customs tech, and freight forecasting.
Policy and Strategic Context
The collaboration is more than a tech project—it represents a strategic alignment of two innovation economies, both seeking greater resilience in the face of rising geopolitical instability, cyber threats, and supply chain vulnerabilities.
Germany, a key player in the EU’s Quantum Flagship program, sees this as an extension of its Horizon Europe trade-tech ambitions. Meanwhile, Israel continues to position itself as the bridge between European R&D and MENA logistics realities, particularly given its strategic ports and technological ecosystem.
“We are laying the foundations for a secure, intelligent logistics infrastructure that can adapt to future disruptions,” said Dr. Lars Engelmann, BMBF’s Program Director for Advanced Computing. “Quantum is a core pillar of that vision.”
Growing Interest in EU-MENA Quantum Corridors
The Tel Aviv-Fraunhofer announcement comes amid increasing discussion around “quantum corridors”—routes where logistics flows are optimized using shared quantum infrastructure.
The concept, floated at the 2024 World Quantum Logistics Forum in Geneva, envisions cross-border quantum-secured networks, joint R&D zones, and standardized APIs for freight modeling. Other countries expressing interest in such corridors include:
United Arab Emirates, working on quantum-secured oil shipment protocols
France, exploring Marseille as a southern European quantum logistics hub
Morocco, developing AI-ready ports integrated with EU supply chains
Israel and Germany are expected to submit a joint roadmap proposal to the OECD’s Transport Research Committee in Q2 2025, outlining best practices for scalable quantum trade technology.
Quantum Logistics: Commercial Viability in Sight
The Tel Aviv-Fraunhofer initiative is part of a wider shift toward commercializing quantum logistics solutions. No longer confined to research labs, quantum-enhanced systems are now being piloted across:
Last-mile delivery optimization (see Amazon–FedEx–Zapata AI trials)
Warehouse robotics coordination (MIT–Zapata–Boston Robotics)
Secure telemetry and cargo tracking (Chengdu Quantum Logistics Facility in China)
As more countries invest in hybrid computing and AI-driven logistics tools, collaborative projects like this one provide a template for multi-stakeholder quantum development that blends research excellence with real-world impact.
Conclusion: A Quantum Bridge Between Innovation Ecosystems
With the August 14 announcement, the Tel Aviv Quantum Innovation Hub and Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute have officially launched one of the world’s first bilateral quantum logistics R&D initiatives, targeting practical, high-stakes problems in trade and transport.
By focusing on use cases with clear commercial urgency—forecasting, customs, and intermodal risk—the project illustrates quantum computing’s growing role in future-proofing global supply chains. Backed by government funding and guided by logistics leaders like Siemens and ZIM, this collaboration may serve as a blueprint for broader EU-MENA quantum infrastructure.
“This is about building a logistics network that’s not just fast or cheap—but intelligent, secure, and adaptive,” said Dr. Marcus. “Quantum gives us that edge.”