Chilas Secures €1 Million in EU Funding for Quantum-Safe Communications Project

Enschede, 22 October 2026. Chilas, the Enschede-based manufacturer of integrated-photonics tunable lasers, is taking part in QUARTERNEXT, a four-year European project to secure critical communications against cyber attacks. The project is backed by €10 million in EU funding under the Digital Europe Programme, of which €1 million goes to Chilas.

QUARTERNEXT brings together six partners: Luxquanta, Quside, Chilas, fragmentiX, Telefónica Innovación Digital (TID) and the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology. The consortium will develop compact, interoperable quantum key distribution (QKD) systems that are ready for industrial deployment and formal European security certification. The partners meet in person for the first time on November 2nd in Barcelona for the project's official kick-off.

Chilas will adapt its tunable, narrow-linewidth laser sources for use in the project's quantum-secure systems. Stable, precisely controlled light is a core building block of continuous-variable QKD, and Chilas' photonic-integrated lasers allow it to be built into compact, deployment-ready devices.

The project supports EuroQCI, the EU's pan-European quantum communication infrastructure. It also works with the Nostradamus initiative on testing and certification, and will trial its results in live telecom networks, including Telefónica's TEFQCI infrastructure. The consortium's aim is EU-made quantum communication components.

Dimitri Geskus, CTO of Chilas Lasers, said: "Protecting our data by using quantum technology means preparing now. We're proud to contribute our laser technology to QUARTERNEXT, working side by side with leading European companies and research institutes".

The project leader from Chilas, Wilson Tsong, and laser expert Albert van Rees will join the Barcelona meeting. QUARTERNEXT builds on the earlier QUARTER project, in which Chilas also took part.

Source: Chilas Lasers news