A Portrait: Dr. Daniel Schall and Sebastian Schall

Engineering Excellence and the Courage to Take the Leap

Sebastian and Dr. Daniel Schall founded Black Semiconductor, a company developing a new approach to high-performance chip technology. In recognition of this achievement, they will receive the 2026 Aachen Engineering Award.

The floor is vibration-free, but the resonance is unmistakable. Dozens of concrete mixers were needed to create the foundation of the production hall where electric vehicles were assembled just a few years ago. Here, in Aachen’s Rothe Erde district, between a former tire factory and a decommissioned cathode-ray tube plant, Black Semiconductor is building a pilot facility with a cleanroom production line for a new generation of computer chips that transmit data using light instead of electricity.

The company was spun out of AMO GmbH, a research institute of the Johannes Rau Research Association and part of the RWTH ecosystem. The brothers Dr. Daniel and Sebastian Schall founded Black Semiconductor in 2020. Six years later, the company employs more than 130 people and has attracted investments totaling hundreds of millions of euros. With its FabONE production facility, Black Semiconductor is making a visible statement. What began as an idea in a laboratory a decade ago can now be held in the founders’ hands in the form of graphene wafers. And the founders are thinking big: “In ten years, Black Semiconductor will be the most valuable company in Europe.”

But first things first. This is, above all, a story of engineering excellence and entrepreneurial spirit. Of determination, foresight, and courage. The Schall brothers have plenty of the latter, but they are not gamblers. By 2016, it had become clear that the device physics underlying Black Semiconductor’s technology worked. As early as 2004, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov published pioneering research on graphene. The two physicists at the University of Manchester had succeeded in producing the material and demonstrating its extraordinary electronic properties. In 2010, they were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery.

Meanwhile, in Aachen, the young engineer Daniel Schall was researching graphene, a two-dimensional form of crystalline carbon that, in its ideal state, is just one atom thick. Researchers around the world were exploring its potential applications. Graphene is lighter and stronger than steel, conducts electricity better than copper, and transfers heat more efficiently than diamond. Possible uses ranged from advanced building materials and solar sails to space suits and, of course, computer technology. This is where the Schall brothers saw their opportunity.

When AMO began graphene research in 2005, the field was still largely unexplored. Daniel Schall joined the team in 2009, focusing initially on photonics, another emerging field. Looking back, two moments stand out in his memory. In 2014, the team successfully integrated its first graphene-based photodetectors onto chips. This success prompted Schall to transfer the manufacturing process to six-inch wafers. A year later, the effort succeeded, resulting in what was then the first successful wafer-level process for graphene photonics.

The realization that meaningful results could be achieved relatively quickly in the laboratory ultimately gave the brothers the confidence to take the next big step.

“We always intended to start a company. Once we had developed a sufficient understanding of both the physics and the technology, and were confident that the remaining challenges in large-scale production could be solved with state-of-the-art equipment, we decided to make the leap from the laboratory to manufacturing.”

And what a leap it was. On September 5 at 7pm, Daniel and Sebastian Schall will accept the Aachen Engineering Award on behalf of Black Semiconductor. The award, presented jointly by the City of Aachen and RWTH Aachen University, will be conferred during a ceremony at Aachen City Hall.

In hindsight, the timing proved ideal. “Our solution points the way forward. We are relying on a new physics that enables a new architecture,” says Daniel Schall. The technology could eventually save chip manufacturers billions of dollars that are currently invested in pushing the limits of transistor miniaturization.

Today, a chip the size of a fingernail contains more than 100 billion transistors. Connecting them efficiently has become an increasingly complex challenge. For years, the industry has known that transistor miniaturization cannot continue indefinitely. Black Semiconductor’s goal is to connect thousands of semiconductor components so that they function as a single system. That the rapid rise of artificial intelligence further amplified the momentum behind the company ultimately proved a fortunate turn of events.

His brother Sebastian, who holds a degree in business administration, puts the urgency in stark terms. If Europe’s 18 million engineers each require AI computing capacity worth €100,000 a year, the rest of the world stands to benefit, because virtually none of that spending currently remains in Europe. To come anywhere close to meeting that demand, around 1,000 independent data centers would be needed, yet only ten are currently under construction. “Our technology is something that, in the end, must be of interest to all of Europe,” Sebastian says. As the German business newspaper Handelsblatt put it in its coverage of the company:

“If Black Semiconductor scales successfully, Europe could control a critical component for AI systems—and become an exporter rather than an importer in a future-oriented segment.”

The Right Ecosystem

The semiconductor industry is undergoing its most significant transformation since its inception, and Black Semiconductor is positioning itself as a promising player in that transition with its efficient and sustainable technology.

In the company’s kitchen, a world map marks the hometowns of employees recruited from across the globe. Experienced managers who have built and operated semiconductor facilities in Germany and abroad are joining the Aachen startup because they believe in the vision behind its highly automated cleanroom production facility.

The brothers carefully evaluated potential locations for the company. There were alternatives elsewhere in Europe. In the end, however, Aachen proved to be the right fit in many respects. The University’s ecosystem provided access to the expertise in photonics and graphene they were seeking, while the company also benefited from strong support during its growth phase, Sebastian Schall reports.

“Black Semiconductor signals a new industrial era for Aachen. The company is creating not only cutting-edge chip technology, but also new jobs, international visibility, and greater technological sovereignty for Europe. We are proud that this forward-looking company has chosen Aachen,” adds Dr. Michael Ziemons, Mayor of Aachen.

“Black Semiconductor provides a sustainable boost to Europe’s position as a semiconductor hub. Through its close ties to research and its strong industrial focus, the company embodies innovation-driven engineering excellence that is strategically vital for emerging technologies,” says RWTH Rector Professor Ulrich Rüdiger.

The two founders make no secret of their competitive spirit. Growing up as two of five siblings, they were constantly challenging one another. Who could eat one more chili pepper? Who could drink another glass of lemon water?

Today, their competitors are no longer their brothers and sisters, but the companies that dominate the global semiconductor market. “Our egos are strong enough to take on the competition,” says Daniel Schall, who ran a recording studio while still a student.

Confident? Perhaps. But the brothers have reason to be optimistic. Pilot production is scheduled to begin in 2027, followed by volume production in 2029.

Text: Thorsten Karbach