The University of Innsbruck will link together trapped-ion quantum processors across hundreds of kilometers of optical fiber within a prototype for a future quantum internet. To this end, Innsbruck quantum researchers are receiving a total of €5.4 million from the EU. The project is being carried out by University of Innsbruck and AQT as part of the Quantum Internet Alliance (QIA), a consortium of over 50 European research partners.
The Quantum Internet Alliance (QIA) has received new funding totaling €47.5 million from the European Commission to advance its work on a fully functional quantum internet prototype and prepare it for practical use. The prototype will be realized at the University of Innsbruck, and €5.4 million of this funding will go to Innsbruck researchers for their contributions to the project. Quantum networks are based on quantum computers connected to one another via fiber-optic cables or satellites using photons - a technology that can enable eavesdropping-proof communication, distributed quantum computing, and high-precision time measurement.
"Building on trapped-ion expertise in Innsbruck, we will link together two metropolitan-scale networks of ion-trap quantum computers over hundreds of kilometers," says Tracy Northup of the Department of Experimental Physics at the University of Innsbruck. "For now, the network links will consist of long-distance optical fibers in our laboratories, but in the future, these could be fibers across a city, or linking distant cities," add Ben Lanyon, also from the Department of Experimental Physics. The two metropolitan-scale networks will include three trapped-ion quantum computers. Transmission over the fiber-optic link between the two networks, which will span hundreds of kilometers, will be made possible by so-called quantum repeaters, the hardware for which will be delivered to Innsbruck by project collaborators in Barcelona.
The QIA consortium, comprising more than 50 European research partners, is building a prototype for the global quantum internet in Innsbruck.
The research groups led by Lanyon and Northup are developing the trapped-ion hardware for the prototype quantum computers, in close collaboration with Innsbruck-based spin-off company AQT. Subsequently, the Innsbruck hardware-along with the hardware from other project partners and the associated network control software-will be integrated in the Innsbruck laboratories to complete the prototype. Finally, the prototype network will undergo a series of tests to verify its quantum functionality.
Years of development
In recent years, the international QIA team has established a European platform for the development of the quantum internet by integrating research in the areas of hardware, software, and networks, laying the technological foundations for a quantum network prototype. Over the next 3.5 years, QIA will now combine these technologies into a complete, programmable quantum network prototype capable of running quantum network applications. A key milestone will be demonstrating how two metropolitan-scale quantum networks can be connected via optical fiber using quantum repeaters-a crucial step toward large-scale quantum communication.
"Over the past years, we have developed the core building blocks of a quantum internet. Our mission in this next phase is to integrate these components into a full stack quantum internet prototype. Europe is at the very forefront of quantum internet technologies world-wide, and this prototype may become the first of its kind in the world," says QIA Director Stephanie Wehner.
About the Quantum Internet Alliance
The European Quantum Internet Alliance (QIA) is a consortium of more than 50 leading institutions-including academic institutions, telecommunications operators, system integrators, and startups in the field of quantum technology-from twelve EU countries, led by TU Delft. Their shared goal is to build a global quantum internet "Made in Europe." By pooling the strengths of its diverse, interdisciplinary team, QIA is driving the development of a European platform for the quantum internet.
