On July 4th, LuxQuanta hosted the first QUARTER 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.
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 infrastructures. 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.
After 6 months since 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 involves 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, which is our ultimate goal to demonstrate by the project’s completion.”
GENERAL MEETING
The meeting took place at the Hotel AC Gavà installations in a well-prepared business meeting room. Dr. Sebastian Etcheverry, LuxQuanta’s CTO, delivered an immaculate introduction, after which each company representative presented their work according to the different work packages defined at the beginning of the project.
Dr. Sebastian Etcheverry, LuxQuanta’s CTO, kicking-off the meeting in front of all QUARTER’s representatives.
This collaboration between different types of companies is critical to providing the technology and ecosystem needed for Europe’s EuroQCI vision. The dynamic of the meeting allowed all the consortium members to be well-informed about the technical details of the research and developments presented by the speakers, while also serving as a valuable stimulus for sharing new ideas, suggestions, and improvements.
“This is the first general meeting that we celebrate as part of QUARTER. Together, we are ensuring that the 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.”
NETWORKING AND LAB TOURS
After a long day of meetings, some participants opted for guided tours of the LuxQuanta and Quside laboratories. It was a unique opportunity to experience the technologies firsthand and learn details from the technical teams that are not usually mentioned.
From our perspective, it is crucial for all the members to have a deep understanding of our technology details and specifications and familiarize themselves with our installations. This knowledge fuels further collaborations and ignites ideas within their respective work packages.
During the meeting, we also organized networking opportunities to help the participants get to know each other personally and relax from the intense meeting sessions.
In fact, we held a welcoming dinner the day before at a beautiful spot near the hotel, allowing everyone to introduce themselves in person and start the meeting on a more personal note. Throughout the meeting day, we included a well-deserved lunch break, creating a space for digesting all the ideas, sharing opinions, and having informal chats among the members.
Welcome dinner with all the representatives the day before was held. Strengthening our internal synergies is critical for the success of the project
ROAD TO 2027 DEPLOYMENT
QUARTER efforts are aligned towards acheving the eneded maturity and development of the technologies needed for the EuroQCI deployment project.
By 2027, Europe expect 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 European Comission’s ambitious project.
