QCI represents the southwestern European segment of the future European quantum communications network, designed to ensure highly secure communications between European Union member states and protect critical infrastructure and sensitive information using technologies resilient to future threats. Specifically, EuroQCI is conceived as a terrestrial and satellite ultra-secure communications network comprised of metropolitan-scale nodes interconnected via quantum distribution technology. The 42-month project aims to interconnect the national quantum communications infrastructures of Portugal and Spain, creating an integrated Iberian network fully interoperable with the future European EuroQCI architecture.
In its terrestrial component, a cross-border connection will be established between Vigo and Valença via trusted nodes, strengthening connectivity between the two countries and integrating existing national networks. Regarding the space component, three optical stations will be installed in Madrid, Barcelona, and southern Portugal, connected to the terrestrial segment in Lisbon. These stations will enable connection with the EAGLE-1 low-Earth orbit demonstrator satellite and the future SAGA constellation, ensuring secure quantum communications even between non-neighboring European countries.
The project will also integrate an optical station in Vigo, expanding coverage and access capacity to the space segment of the network. This hybrid architecture, which combines terrestrial and space networks, is essential to guarantee a robust and scalable European quantum communications infrastructure, especially in large geographical areas like Spain and in peripheral countries like Portugal, where the limitations of fiber optics make the space component particularly relevant. With the launch of IberianQCI, Indra Space reinforces its position as a leading industrial partner in the development of the next generation of secure communications in Europe, contributing to the construction of a resilient, interoperable, and future-proof European quantum network.
A hybrid network key to the security of future communications in Europe
The emergence of quantum computers brings significantly greater computational power than traditional computers for certain problems, such as prime factorization, the basis of current asymmetric cryptography. This will represent a paradigm shift in secure communications, as attackers with quantum computers will be able to decrypt current encryptions in a matter of seconds. Therefore, it is crucial to develop a system that allows for the secure transmission of information in government communications (both civilian and military), critical infrastructure management, and applications and services of economic, environmental, or technological importance, as well as for large corporations. Quantum key distribution via an optical communication system allows for definitive verification of whether a key has been intercepted, as its integrity is continuously checked thanks to the quantum properties of photons. Currently, technology does not allow the use of fiber optic connections to establish quantum communications over distances exceeding 100 kilometers. In contrast, using satellites to send quantum keys allows any distance to be covered, since signal attenuation is less in free space.
In Iberian QCI, Indra Space is acting as coordinator of a consortium that brings together leading scientific, technological, and industrial entities from Portugal—Infraestructuras de Portugal, IP Telecom, Instituto de Telecomunicações, Altice Labs, and Instituto Superior Técnico—and Spain—Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Telefónica, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Instituto de Ciencias Fotónicas de Barcelona, Centro de Supercomputación de Galicia, and Universidad de Vigo. Indra Space will coordinate the consortium, overseeing the operational management and technical implementation of the project. This role builds on the company's existing work in quantum communications in the Iberian Peninsula, which includes various activities within EuroQCI and other national initiatives such as Portugal QCI. Furthermore, through Hispasat, Q-Design is being led, the first project worldwide that will combine quantum key distribution (QKD) through geostationary and low-Earth orbit satellites and terrestrial infrastructures; and work is also underway on the development, construction, verification and validation phase of the QKD-GEO prototype, the first Spanish geostationary quantum key distribution system.
