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Quantum technology specialists from across Europe are gathering at the Camden Court Hotel in Dublin city this week for a 3-day conference organised by the IrelandQCI Project Leads at Walton Institute in South East Technological University (SETU). Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, with special responsibility for Communications and Circular Economy, Ossian Smyth T. D., was delighted to address attendees today, Tuesday 2 July 2024, an audience made up of representatives from the European Commission, European Space Agency and technology specialists from across Irish and European industry and academia.
See press releases
Experts gather in Dublin to discuss quantum communications (siliconrepublic.com)
Prism Malta are organising a Quantum Communications Summer School from 22nd to 26th July 2024 at the University of Malta’s Msida Campus as part of the PRISM EuroQCI project. This event aims to provide a comprehensive understanding on the different aspects of quantum communications to participants of different professional backgrounds, including academics, industry professionals, and government entities. The aspects that the series of lectures will feature include concepts from quantum mechanics, mathematics, QKD protocols, error correction and the idea of QKD beyond point-to-point networks.
Event Details:
Dates: 22nd – 26th July 2024
Time: 1:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Location: VC101, IT Services, University of Malta Msida Campus, Msida, Malta
Price: €100 (fee waiver available for full-time students)
The summer school will include:
5 two-hour lectures by leading academics and industry experts
5 two-hour practical sessions
Coverage of topics such as quantum mechanics, QKD (Quantum Key Distribution) protocols, error correction, and QKD beyond point-to-point networks
Refreshments between sessions
A Certificate of Attendance upon completion
Learning and Skills Outcomes:
Understand that there are different aspects behind quantum communications.
Apply the mathematical concepts introduced in the school to solve basic computations.
Understand the scientific concepts behind quantum mechanics and use them to explain the phenomena that allow secure communication to occur.
Familiarise themselves with the existence of various QKD protocols, their uses and their implementation.
Understand the use of error correction codes and be able to implement a simple code themselves.
Appreciate the evolution of the field and the emergent technologies that guarantee the security of a quantum communications network.
Gain an understanding of some of the projects that are currently underway in Malta and beyond to secure the current communications infrastructure.
Admission Requirements:
The Quantum Communications Summer School is open for any interested candidate that has basic knowledge in Quantum Mechanics, Communications, ICT or has experience in the Communications industry.
Quarter Consortium First General Meeting
On the 4th of July, the QUARTER consortium General had its first general meeting in Castelldefels, Barcelona. The meeting
aimed to bring together representatives from all the companies involved in QUARTER to share the consortium’s advancements, and news, discuss new ideas, and plan the next steps.
Representatives from Telefónica, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Quside, Thales, LuxQuanta, Chilas, Cipherbit
(Grupo Oesia), and fragmentiX gathered in a meeting full of innovative ideas.
WHAT IS QUARTER?
QUARTER, led by LuxQuanta, stands for “Quantum Cryptography Technology for Europe,” a consortium of companies working under the DIGITAL Europe program by the European Commission.
The main objective of QUARTER is to increase the maturity level of quantum communication (QC) technologies, enabling their deployment in quantum-secure networks and infrastructure, including the quantum-secured network of the EuroQCI initiative.
The consortium brings together 4 SMEs specialized in quantum key distribution (QKD), quantum random number generators
(QRNGs), high-performance laser sources, classical security solutions, and 5 large companies/RTOs that are European leaders in quantum technologies, security solutions, and telecommunications.
Six months after its kick-off, the General meeting aimed to mark a pivotal point in the project by gathering all companies
in person to share their insights and progress.
“The core of the proposal and the project involve various technologies that complement each other in building quantum-secure networks. These technologies range from components to quantum key distribution (QKD), classical security solutions, and network interfaces. The objective is to seamlessly integrate all these elements into an end-to-end solution, our ultimate goal to demonstrate by the project’s completion.”
Sebastian Etcheverry, LuxQuanta’s CTO
“This is the first general meeting we celebrate as part of QUARTER. Together, we are ensuring that progress aligns with our goals and that all the deliverables committed to the European Commission are achieved effectively. Our aim is to meet the 2027 deployment deadline with confidence.”
Vanesa Díaz, LuxQuanta’s CEO
ROAD TO 2027 DEPLOYMENT
QUARTER efforts are aligned towards achieving the needed maturity and development of the technologies needed for
the EuroQCI deployment project. By 2027, Europe expects to have already deployed a pan-European communication network secured by Quantum Key Distribution. The consortium efforts are, therefore, moving forward with that goal as the main objective, and all members are working hard in their expertise to achieve the European Commission’s ambitious project.
Antonio Manzalini (TIM), Project Coordinator of EQUO, has been confirmed as Chair of the group Quantum Networking and Services of GSMA (https://www.gsma.com/)
The new work-item (2023-2024) concerns “hybrid (QKD and PQC) security scenarios and use cases”: activities started with the objective is delivery a GSMA whitepaper on this topic in Spring 2024.
The former papers published by the group Quantum Networking and Services of GSMA (2020-2022) are available at these links:
Construction of the quantum encryption network begins in Finland
A public test network will be built in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, which will enable the introduction of quantum encryption technologies.
https://www.vttresearch.com/en/news-and-ideas/construction-quantum-encryption-network-begins-finland
Public demonstration of a quantum-encrypted video call using Maltese technology
In May, PRISM ran a demonstration of a quantum-encrypted video call between the University of Malta and the data centre of Melita in Madliena using the technology built by Merqury Cybersecurity.
A press release was issued, and articles were released on the PRISM website as well as on partner channels such as the Melita website. A video was also released by the University of Malta on YouTube. Here are some relevant links:
YouTube video by the University of Malta: https://youtu.be/2nqRreU6LFg
News article on the PRISM project website: https://prism-euroqci.eu/public-demonstration-quantum-encrypted-video-call/
News article on the University of Malta website: https://www.um.edu.mt/newspoint/news/2023/05/public-demonstration-quantum-encrypted-video
News article on the Melita website: https://www.melita.com/public-demonstration-of-a-quantum-encrypted-video-call-using-maltese-technology
Feature on Times of Malta: https://x2.timesofmalta.com/20230518/business-tech/the-first-quantum-encrypted-video-call-using-maltese-technology/
Building a quantum key distribution network in Sweden
https://www.ericsson.com/en/blog/2023/8/building-a-quantum-key-distribution-network-in-sweden
HellasQCI: Security of sensible data and infrastructure
Quantum-proof network to be established between Danish ministries
This project has received funding from the DIGITAL-2021-QCI-01 Digital European Program under grant agreement no. PETRUS 101091719.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
