What Leonardo will do with Airbus, Orange and Telespazio for the EuroQCI quantum network
The consortium will design the future European quantum communication network, EuroQCI, which will enable ultra-secure communication between critical infrastructures and government institutions across the EU
Leonardo, Telespazio, Cnr and Inrim among the European digital players in the consortium working on EuroQci, the future EU quantum Internet network.
The European Commission has selected a consortium of companies and research institutes to design the EuroQCI (quantum communication infrastructure). The latter will enable ultra-secure communication between critical infrastructures and government institutions across the EU.
The consortium, led by Airbus, includes Leonardo, Orange, PwC France and Maghreb, Telespazio (Leonardo 67%, Thales 33%), the National Research Council (Cnr) and the National Institute of Metrological Research (Inrim).
Since June 2019, 26 EU member states have signed the EuroQCI Declaration, to collaborate with the Commission, supported by the European Space Agency (ESA), in the development of a quantum communication infrastructure covering the entire European Union.
EuroQCI will therefore combine the use of commercial optical fibers with that of dedicated satellites.
The long-term plan calls for EuroQCI to become the foundation of a quantum internet in Europe, connecting computers, simulators and quantum sensors, across quantum networks to distribute information and resources with a state-of-the-art security solution, explains a joint note from the consortium members. .
“The birth of the EuroQCI consortium sees Leonardo alongside leading partners in defining the future European quantum network. An important step for the continent's technological advancement in a priority and avant-garde area ”underlines Lucio Valerio Cioffi, General Manager of Leonardo.
All the details.
WHAT EUROQCI WILL DO
EuroQCI will integrate quantum technologies and systems into terrestrial fiber optic communications networks and will include a space segment that will ensure full coverage across the EU and other continents.
The first to use it will be the quantum key distribution (QKD) service, which will transmit the encryption keys through quantum communication channels both on terrestrial optical fiber and on space laser links. The use of quantum photonic states makes the distribution key immune to vulnerabilities, unlike the solutions currently used.
THE TARGET
The EuroQCI initiative will help protect Europe's cryptographic systems and critical infrastructures – such as government institutions, air traffic control, healthcare facilities, banks or even power grids – from cyber threats.
I STUDY
The study, lasting 15 months, defines the details of the end-to-end system and the design of the ground segment to support the QKD service and provides for the development of a detailed roadmap, which includes the costs and timing of each phase of implementation. The study will also support the European Commission in building an advanced QCI testing and validation infrastructure, which includes standards.
THE ROUTE
The goal is to launch a EuroQCI pilot project by 2024 and an initial operational service by 2027.
CNR AND INRIM IN SUPPORT OF THE CONSORTIUM
The consortium will benefit from the complementarity of its members, which includes large systems integrators, telecom and satcom operators, and service providers along with research institutes. The study will leverage existing contributions focused on various quantum projects, carried out by each member of the consortium. It will also benefit from the field experience of the Italian quantum backbone thanks to the CNR and INRiM.
THE COMMENT OF THE DG DI LEONARDO ON THE EUROQCI CONSORTIUM
“The central element is the possibility of using quantum technologies to exchange cryptographic keys, thus guaranteeing the total security of communications in the management of an enormous amount of data. A technology that has no equal and represents the future, not only in the telecommunications sector but in numerous other areas of application ”commented Lucio Valerio Cioffi, General Manager of Leonardo.
"The possibility of creating a European 'Quantum Internet' in the future that allows communication between quantum computers – characterized by greater computing power and speed and quantum sensors of extraordinary accuracy – will enable unprecedented and total analytical and forecasting capabilities on a global scale. safety. A sector, therefore, with enormous potential, in which Leonardo's skills, enhanced through a specifically dedicated 'Quantum' Laboratory in the Leonardo Labs network, will have a central role and a tangible impact for business development in multiple domains: from Cyber Security to Defense Electronics up to Space ".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/cosa-fara-leonardo-con-airbus-orange-e-telespazio-per-la-rete-quantistica-euroqci/ on Mon, 31 May 2021 13:08:41 +0000.