131Insider Brief
- ID Quantique Europe GmbH (IDQ Europe) is now Nutshell Quantum-Safe GmbH.
- The company was spun off from ID Quantique and is fully owned and controlled within the EU.
- Critical Quote: “QKD can and should soon yield value to European citizens by protecting private, governmental, and commercial data. Nutshell Quantum-Safe supports the European initiatives to accelerate the availability of advanced and high-value QKD technologies.” — Florian Fröwis, CEO of Nutshell Quantum-Safe
PRESS RELEASE — ID Quantique Europe GmbH (IDQ Europe), a developer and provider of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) solutions in Vienna, Austria, is becoming Nutshell Quantum-Safe GmbH. Aiming at supplying QKD network solutions to protect European data in transit, the company supports national and European QKD initiatives and contributes to building a leading and sustainable quantum industry in the EU.
QKD is a technology to permanently protect data in transit – even against attackers using the most powerful quantum computers now and in the future. The European Commission and the Union’s member states have recognized this potential and initiated programs, like the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI), to develop and deploy QKD networks for the future-proof protection of its critical infrastructure.
Today, the EU needs a coordinated effort to develop, certify, deploy and accredit the necessary QKD infrastructures throughout its 27 members. At the same time, it wants to avoid new dependencies from companies and countries outside the EU. However, while some pioneering companies have developed QKD in Europe, the EU-based QKD industry itself is today at an early stage, implying a risk that the joint goal may not be reached in time.
In 2021, the Swiss company ID Quantique, a world leader in QKD development and commercialization, decided to spin off the Austrian company IDQ Europe to make its pioneering QKD technology available to the European governmental market in a compliant way. Today, IDQ Europe is fully owned and controlled within the EU. The independence from ID Quantique is now underlined with this new distinguishable branding.
Nutshell Quantum-Safe has set up its business in Vienna to support the EU’s cybersecurity agenda with cutting-edge QKD technology. The company is a value-added reseller of QKD solutions from ID Quantique. With its experienced team, Nutshell offers services like consulting, QKD network project implementation, and technical customer support. The next step is to open an EU-based production of QKD equipment. Furthermore, the company is actively pursuing R&D collaborations on QKD components, systems and network integration with European partners.
According to Dr. Florian Fröwis, CEO of Nutshell Quantum-Safe: “QKD can and should soon yield value to European citizens by protecting private, governmental, and commercial data. Nutshell Quantum-Safe supports the European initiatives to accelerate the availability of advanced and high-value QKD technologies.”
Nutshell meaning. The security of QKD is based on the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics. In QKD, single photons are exchanged between distant users. The attempt to read the information carried by the photons by an attacker will necessarily leave a trace that is detectable by the QKD devices. The nutshell symbolizes the protection of the quantum information. Accessing the information is like cracking the nutshell to grab the nut. It is impossible to get the nut without leaving a trace on the nutshell.
To learn more, please visit www.nutshell-qs.com.
For more market insights, check out our latest quantum computing news here.
