QGRID will protect critical infrastructure with quantum-secure communications and intelligent fiber cables

With a combination of quantum technology and intelligent fiber sensors, the new research and innovation project QGRID will make it possible to both protect data and detect physical intrusion in real time. The perspective is stronger security of supply, better preparedness and new Danish export opportunities. Innovation Fund Denmark is investing 13.8 million kroner in the project.

When critical infrastructure is hit, the consequences can be felt throughout society – from energy supply and communication to emergency preparedness and security. That is why QGRID is now developing a new Danish security solution that combines quantum-secure communication with real-time monitoring of fiber cables.

The fiber cables are used both as a communication channel for quantum encrypted data transmission and as distributed sensors that continuously monitor physical influences along the entire length of the cable. This allows for the detection and localization of interference or disruptions in real time, which increases the overall security and robustness of the infrastructure against physical attacks and subsequent operational disruptions.

The perspective is clear: faster detection of attacks, better protection against both digital and physical threats, and stronger security of the infrastructure that Denmark depends on every single day.

A comprehensive solution for future threats

QGRID aims to make Denmark's critical infrastructure more secure and robust. The project's solution can both protect data against future cyber threats and detect physical disruptions to fiber cables before they develop into major problems. This can have great value for society in the form of fewer operational disruptions, faster troubleshooting and better protection of energy, telecommunications and defense infrastructure. At the same time, QGRID can create new Danish export opportunities, strengthen business development and contribute to more highly specialized jobs within advanced technology and security.

"Denmark has strong competencies within both quantum technology and fiber networks. With QGRID, we bring the two areas together in a solution that can have a major impact on how we protect power grids, telecommunications and other critical infrastructure against both digital and physical attacks in the future," says Mikael Lassen, project manager and Principal Scientist at DFM.

Innovation Fund Denmark's investment makes it possible to take the technology out of the laboratory and test it where it will make a real difference: on existing fiber infrastructure that carries socially critical data. This gives the project a weight that would not otherwise be possible.

Strong partnership across the value chain

QGRID brings together companies, researchers and infrastructure owners to develop and test an underwater connection that can be monitored and where communication is simultaneously secured with quantum technology.

-Without the joint investment, this type of integration, field validation and maturation towards a market-ready product would be difficult to implement. It requires top-class research, strong companies and access to real critical infrastructure to make QGRID a success. That is why the project brings together partners with competencies from the entire value chain. This collaboration is crucial if the project and Denmark are to develop a solution that is both technologically groundbreaking and ready for use in socially critical systems, says Mikael Lassen.

DTU Physics and Celare Quantum Communications (CQC) develop the quantum technology solutions, Fluves of DFM contributes with fiber sensors and data analysis, Terma with security and threat understanding, while Energinet and GlobalConnect make it possible to test the solution on existing networks in real operating environments.

Facts

• Innovation Fund Denmark's investment: DKK 13,831,980.
• Total budget: DKK 20,326,697.
• Duration: 3 years
• Official title: Q-Grid Quantum-Secured Fiber Sensing for Resilient Power Grid
• Networks

About the partners

DFM is leading QGRID and brings together the project's many tracks from research to testing in real networks. With strong competencies in quantum optics, quantum communication and fiber measurement technology, DFM helps ensure that the project is both technologically ambitious and close to practical application.

DTU / Technical University of Denmark is among Denmark's strongest research environments within quantum technology and contributes to QGRID with knowledge about the quantum systems that will make future communication more secure. Their research helps elevate the project from advanced technology to concrete solutions.

CQC / Celare Quantum Communications is a key industry partner in the project and brings experience in quantum cryptography and commercialization of QKD solutions to the collaboration. The company will help translate the project's results into a solution that can be brought to market.

Fluves (Belgium) contributes with expertise in monitoring fiber cables through distributed acoustic sensing. It is this technology that makes it possible to detect physical manipulation or disruptions in the infrastructure, thus adding a whole new dimension of security to the project.

Energinet brings real critical infrastructure into the project and makes it possible to test the technology under conditions that resemble the reality on which society's energy supply depends. This gives QGRID an important anchoring in concrete needs and societal relevance.

GlobalConnect contributes experience from modern telecom infrastructure and large fiber-based networks. With their participation, the project gains access to realistic test environments and important insight into how technology can create value in the digital communications network of the future.

Terma brings knowledge about security, threat intelligence, and defense-related applications to the project. This strengthens QGRID's relevance in a time when protecting critical infrastructure is not only about operational reliability, but also about preparedness and national security.