Qcom Community hands over Joint Impulse Paper to State Secretary Philippi:
On 17 October 2024, the ‘Forum für Quantenkommunikation in Deutschland’ took place at the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI) in Berlin. Numerous stakeholders from research, industry and politics were present at the event, including the Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik (BSI), the Europäische Komitee für Normung (Comité Européen de Normalisation, CEN), the Europäische Komitee für elektrotechnische Normung (Comité Européen de Normalisation Électrotechnique, CENELEC), and the European Quantum Industry Consortium (QuIC).
The aim of the forum was to highlight the importance of Quantum Communication for a quantum-safe future in Germany and to present the current state of research in this field. The guest of honour was the State Secretary of the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF), Dr. Roland Philippi. After being welcomed by Prof. Dr. Martin Schell, he described Quantum Communication as an essential component of sustainable IT security and technological sovereignty: ‘Gemeinsam mit Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft gestalten wir so ein starkes Innovationssystem.’
Following Dr Philippi’s opening speech, QuNET, led by Dr Nino Walenta, together with partners from the Fraunhofer-Institut für Angewandte Optik und Feinmechanik (IOF), the Deutsche Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), the Max-Planck-Institut für die Physik des Lichts und the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität (FAU) Erlangen-Nürnberg, successfully presented a quantum-secured data transmission in Berlin’s inner-city network. In the future, this type of transmission could be used for digital services provided by public authorities or for the transmission of personal data.
Another contribution by the consortium Quantum Repeater.Link (QR.X), led by Prof. Dr. Christoph Becher, demonstrated a basic technological building block of future Quantum Networks: teleportation. The video not only clearly explained the theoretical background of entanglement and teleportation, but also presented an experiment in which Quantum Teleportation between a trapped ion and a telecom photon was successfully carried out over a 14-kilometre-long fibre link — the so-called Saarbrücken Quantum Communication Fiber Testbed.
A highlight of the event was the formal handover of a joint impulse paper entitled ‘Quantenkommunikation für sichere digitale Infrastrukturen’, which was presented to the State Secretary by the BMBF-funded consortia QR.X, QuNET and SQuaD as well as the Deutsche Industrieverbund für Quantensicherheit (DIVQSec). As the result of an intensive discussion process within the Qcom community in the run-up to the forum, the paper underlines the crucial importance of Quantum Communication not only for secure digital infrastructures, but also for the protection of sensitive data in an increasingly digitalized world. It provides a comprehensive overview of the current status in Germany and outlines the research required to further advance the technology as well as create the basis for a secure digital future. As stated right at the beginning of the impulse paper: ‘Sichere und leistungsfähige digitale Infrastrukturen sind die Grundpfeiler einer souveränen und selbstbestimmten Informationsgesellschaft.’
The forum was also accompanied by panel discussions, presentations and a variety of info points on the key topics and highlights of Quantum Communication. These activities were characterized by the common goal of the participants to further advance Quantum Communication in Germany in order to make communication secure even in the era of Quantum Computers.
Further information on the event and the current state of Quantum Communication in Germany can also be found in an article published by the Tagesspiegel on 29 October 2024.
Photos: Impressions of the “Forum für die Quantenkommunikation in Deutschland”.
Author of the photos: © Fraunhofer HHI
Source references: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/bundesministerium‑f%C3%BCr-bildung-und-forschung_it-quantenkommunikation-quantenteleportation-activity-7252680138096537602-AocP?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop; https://www.linkedin.com/posts/fraunhofer-hhi_quantumcommunication-qunet-activity-7253012701939949568–1VQT?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop; https://www.linkedin.com/posts/christoph-becher-750a241a_it-quantenkommunikation-quantenteleportation-activity-7254205653450207232-xvHP?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop