Consortium gains €7m to advance quantum network deployment

A newly established consortium has raised more than €7m to increase the maturity and readiness of quantum cryptography technologies for deployment within the EuroQCI initiative. 

The QUARTER Consortium (which stands for Quantum Cryptography Technology for Europe) will work to ensure a significant advancement towards the deployment of a quantum-secure network for Europe.

The funding was received from the Digital Europe Programme, under the EuroQCI initiative. By 2027, the EuroQCI initiative plans to have deployed a secure quantum communication infrastructure spanning the entire EU in order to provide proper protection of its network infrastructure from malicious attacks and safeguard its sensitive data. 

The consortium gathers a group of specialised and experienced companies in the sector. LuxQuanta, Quside, Chilas, and Fragmentix, are renowned manufacturers in the field of quantum key distribution (QKD), quantum random number generators (QRNG), high-performance laser sources, and classical security solutions, respectively. Alongside these companies, the consortium is proud to partner with Telefonica, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Tecnobit, and Thales, well-established firms in the areas of quantum technologies, security solutions, and telecommunications in Europe.

LuxQuanta, which recently commercialised a quantum CV-QKD system for networks, will lead the consortium. The aim is to increase the maturity of QKD and its related technologies while defining a clear industrialisation roadmap to ensure their successful deployment. The consortium will actively participate in standardisation groups to contribute to QKD’s certification framework, paving the way for its integration into telecommunications products and services, and supporting its deployment within the EuroQCI initiative.

Vanesa Diaz, CEO of LuxQuanta, said: “QUARTER is made up of some of the most innovative and powerful businesses and organisations within our industry, and this investment demonstrates the importance of quantum technology within cybersecurity. We are honoured to be leading the consortium in such a critical task of developing the technologies that will keep European networks secure. Partnering with these specialist companies, we are truly excited to see what progress can be made over the next few years. The world is recognizing the need for quantum cryptography, and we must help it prepare for this new era of cybersecurity.”