QCI-CAT Stakeholder Event: Three Years of Progress Towards Quantum-Secure Communication
On 26 February 2026, the QCI-CAT consortium welcomed stakeholders from research, industry, public administration and critical infrastructure to Vienna for the project’s final Stakeholder Event. The event marked an important milestone as the first phase of the national EuroQCI initiative approaches its conclusion.
Participants looked back on three years of intensive research and development, presenting the key results achieved within QCI-CAT and discussing the next steps towards implementing quantum-secure communication in Austria and Europe.
The programme included presentations from consortium partners and Austrian stakeholders, highlighting the progress made in building a nationwide demonstration network for quantum-secure communication. Attendees also experienced live demonstrations of several project use cases, including:
- quantum-secure exchange of genomic data
- secret sharing between authorities within a quantum-secure network
- HSM backups using Quantum Key Distribution (QKD)
- real-time audio and video communication over quantum-secure channels
A central highlight of the day was the interactive discussion with the audience, where diverse perspectives and insightful questions from stakeholders further emphasized the growing relevance of quantum-secure communication.
The event once again demonstrated how essential open and interdisciplinary exchange between research, industry and public institutions is for advancing the EuroQCI initiative and strengthening Europe’s future cyber security.
Photos: Valerie Maltseva & Katharina Schiffl
