European QUARTERNEXT Consortium Advances Quantum-Safe Communication Systems

Insider BriefPress release – QUARTERNEXT, a European-funded consortium dedicated to advancing quantum-safe communication technologies toward certifiable, industrial-grade systems, has officially launched. Bringing together six leading organizations across Spain, Austria, and the Netherlands, the project aims to mature quantum technologies for widespread commercial adoption and secure formal certification under stringent European standards.Coordinated by Luxquanta, the consortium unites four specialized SMEs (Luxquanta, Quside, Chilas, and fragmentiX) focused on quantum technologies, photonic-integrated components, and quantum-age cybersecurity, alongside with Telefónica, representing one of Europe’s leading telecommunications operators, and the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT), Austria’s largest research and technology organization.As quantum computing advances, protecting Europe’s sensitive digital infrastructure is a critical priority. QUARTERNEXT represents a vital step toward safeguarding these assets and directly aligns with the EU’s EuroQCI initiative to interconnect member states via highly secure quantum networks.The consortium will focus on developing next-generation continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) systems and core components, with key technical milestones that include:Certification is central to the QUARTERNEXT mission. The consortium will collaborate directly with Nostradamus — the European initiative establishing testing, evaluation, and certification infrastructure for quantum-safe systems — by providing hardware and software as primary test vehicles. Beyond laboratory validation, QUARTERNEXT will test its advancements under real-world deployment conditions. By demonstrating multi-vendor interoperability in live telecom networks environments, validating interoperability across vendors, demonstrating operation in live telecom network environments represented by Telefónica’s TEFQCI quantum communication infrastructure, and building the evidence base required for deployment in line with European security standards.The project builds directly on the success of QUARTER, a three-year European initiative that successfully validated QKD integration across operational environments in finance, healthcare, cloud infrastructure, and data centers. QUARTERNEXT advances that foundation further, targeting reliability and security validation, as well as formal certification, to establish quantum-safe communications as a permanent feature of Europe’s critical infrastructure.Each partner brings a distinct capability to the consortium’s technical roadmap:To strengthen Europe’s technological sovereignty and secure its critical supply chains, the consortium is committed to developing EU-made quantum communication components. QUARTERNEXT will align directly with European initiatives such as PIXEurope (the EU Pilot Line advancing photonic integrated circuits under the Chips Joint Undertaking), reducing dependence on non-European technologies in a domain vital to national and economic security.TopicsShare Get the latest research, company news, and market intelligence every week. MENTIONED IN THE ARTICLELuxQuanta specializes in Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), a quantum-based technology for enhancing data security. QKD enables two remote nodes to securely generate a shared encryption key, safeguarding data against potential future threats from quantum computers.More in Research 2026 © Resonance Alliance Inc.

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