EU quantum communications system ‘could be the next Galileo’

The European Commission and European Space Agency are sounding out their member states on building a theoretically unhackable satellite communications network using quantum technologies.

Paul Flament, the Commission head of unit for the Galileo and EGNOS satellite navigation programmes, invited delegates at the Research and Innovation Days conference in Brussels to consider quantum-encrypted communications as a topic for research. “I’m convinced that this will change the world,” he said.

Speaking to Research Professional News, he said the Commission was talking to industry about the feasibility of developing a satellite system using quantum computers to encode government communications, and to member states about their appetite for such a system.