March 2024, Barcelona—QUARTER members LuxQuanta and Quside attended the Mobile World Congress under the Quantum Flagship initiative. Both companies exhibited their solutions at booths and showed a live QKD Demo.
Quantum Technologies at the Mobile World Congress
Mobile World Congress is a well-established mobile communications and telecommunications industry reference event. However, in recent years, interest in and people attracted to exhibitors presenting Quantum Technologies have been increasing rapidly. This is mainly due to the critical solutions that Quantum technologies provide in the realm of cybersecurity and telecommunications.
The Quantum Flagship, a pivotal quantum initiative of the European Commission, has been a consistent presence at the Mobile World Congress. This year, QUARTER members LuxQuanta and Quside showcased their latest advancements, products, and solutions under the Quantum Flagship, furthering the initiative’s mission for another successful year.
Quantum Flagship area where QUARTER members LuxQuanta & Quside stands
Live QKD Demo: LuxQuanta Systems & Quside’s QRNG
The highlight of the Quantum Flagship booth was a live videoconference protected with QKD, a tangible demonstration of the maturity and potential of quantum technologies. This videoconference was encrypted using quantum-generated keys by LuxQuanta CV-QKD systems, which incorporates Quisde’s QRNG as the randomness source, showcasing the practical application of these technologies in real-time communication and use cases.
This live QKD demonstration showcases a miniature QKD network. Two QKD devices, Alice and Bob, are connected through a Quantum Channel, generating quantum-based symmetric keys. These keys will then be managed and distributed to encryptors via a KMS-SDN stack software solution from Qoolnet (Polytechnical University of Madrid), ensuring quantum-secure encryption for a real-time video conference.
The two racks containing the CV-QKD systems of LuxQuanta, which incorporates Quside’s QRNG, along the KMS Stack solution of Qoolnet. In the upper part the videoconference is running between two laptops.
- Two NOVA LQ® devices are connected through a quantum channel between points A and B, generating symmetric keys. The classical channel calibrates and maintains constant communication between endpoints.
- The SDN-KMS Stack Platform manages the connection and requests, stores the generated keys, and sends them to the upper encryption layer.
- Third-party encryptors are allocated in the encryption layer, where the keys provided by QoolNet’s platform from the QKD devices will be used to cypher the video call information.
- The quantum-secured communication will be done through a proprietary Videoconference app used by two laptops in a single call.
The present demo states the maturity level of Quantum Cryptography technologies and essential complementary technologies. Quisde QRNG is a key component of the QKD devices used. LuxQuanta and Quside are working closely to advance the respective technologies for the EuroQCI deployment.
Simple Demo architecture of the live QKD demonstration presented at the MWC
Institutional Visits
During the event, several institutional representatives from national and international entities visited the Quantum Flagship booth to express their support for Quantum Technologies. Their engagement with the leading companies showcasing their solutions further consolidate the growing confidence in the potential of Quantum Technologies.
The live Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) demonstration also served as a vital attention-grabber, sparking curiosity among the attendees.
It’s worth noting that after His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain‘s initial tour of the event, Quside and LuxQuanta welcomed visitors from the Government of Catalonia. Gina Tost i Faust, Secretary of Digital Policies for the Government of Catalonia, met with LuxQuanta’s CEO, Quside’s COO, and other government representatives to informally discuss the current state of Quantum Cryptography in Catalonia, future initiatives, and the needs of Catalan industries for quantum-secure communications.
Gina Tost i Faust, Secretary of Digital Policies for the Government of Catalonia, talking with Vanesa Díaz (LuxQuanta CEO)
Furthermore, the Minister of Research and Universities, Joaquim Nadal I Farreras, expressed his support for LuxQuanta, Quside, and ICFO as Catalan leaders in the quantum sector. He highlighted the critical importance of such companies and institutions for further developing the Spanish and Catalan ecosystems, which will undoubtedly strengthen Europe’s position in quantum technologies.
During these discussions, both QUARTER members Quisde and LuxQuanta mentioned their involvement in the European project and the critical mission the project and the European Commission have for Europe, including Spain and Catalonia.
Post-Quantum Cryptography panel
An outstanding gathering of experts in the Quantum-safe solutions landscape will take place in the quantum Flasghsip booth to discuss the Quantum Threat, current solutions, and the role of post-quantum cryptography and its coexistence with Quantum Key Distribution.
Quside’s CEO, Carlos Abellan, moderated the panel.
The panellists include:
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- Jordi Mur-Petit, Tech Lead, Emerging Technologies at Nestlé
- Monica Espinosa, Director of Centre d’Innovació i Competència de Ciberseguretat (Cybersecurity Innovation and Competition Center)
- Vanesa Díaz, CEO at LuxQuanta
QUARTER & Quantum in Subsequent Editions.
It is undisputable that interest in quantum technologies will continue to increase during the next years. Visitors from different types and sizes of companies and institutions are increasingly attracted to learning about the current solutions against the quantum threat.
The role of LuxQuanta, Quside, and the rest of the QUARTER Consortium is to continue spreading the work the European Union is doing in protecting our most critical infrastructure at the European level, supporting the proper and timely development of the required technologies to be prepared for the quantum threat, and boosting the current cryptographic measures.
