Insider Brief
- Creotech Quantum said the European Commission positively assessed the technical and financial results of the eCAUSIS project, supporting further commercialization of its proprietary QKD system.
- The Horizon Europe and EuroQCI project developed a DV-QKD module, cryptographic key management software and supporting technologies for certification, integration and serial production.
- Creotech Quantum plans to bring its QKD solution to market in 2026, with the project targeting production capacity of up to 1,000 modules annually and potential expansion to 10,000 modules.
PRESS RELEASE — Creotech Quantum S.A., a Warsaw Stock Exchange-listed company developing and commercializing quantum technologies, announced that the European Commission has approved the results of the eCAUSIS project – “European, Certifiable, Affordable, User-oriented, Secure, Integrationable, Scalable quantum key distribution solutions”. The project was positively assessed both in terms of its technical and financial performance, while its results represent an important milestone in the development of Creotech Quantum’s proprietary quantum key distribution (QKD) system and provide a foundation for its further commercialization and potential deployment across the European market.
“The European Commission’s positive assessment of the eCAUSIS project results is an important confirmation of the technological maturity of our solutions and the strategic direction in which we are developing our quantum technologies. The project focused not only on developing the QKD system itself, but also on its certifiability, integration with existing infrastructure, scalability and readiness for serial production. What is particularly important to us is that the project results can be leveraged to deploy our proprietary QKD system on the market. This is an important step in building European capabilities and production capacity in the field of secure quantum communications,” says Anna Kamińska, PhD, CEO of Creotech Quantum S.A.
The eCAUSIS project was carried out at the request of the European Commission under the Horizon Europe programme and the EuroQCI initiative. Its objective was to develop and industrialize key components of quantum key distribution systems, in particular an interoperable DV-QKD module and a cryptographic key management system (KMS), as well as to prepare the technology for certification, integration and serial production in Europe.
The project was carried out by a consortium of three European entities: Creotech Instruments S.A. as the coordinator, the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT), and Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung. Following the spin-off of Creotech Quantum S.A., the company assumed all rights and obligations of Creotech Instruments S.A. related to the project, including the intellectual property rights to the project results, which now form the basis of the QKD system commercialized by Creotech Quantum. The total project budget amounted to approximately EUR 6.96 million, with maximum funding of approximately EUR 4.52 million. Creotech’s share of the project’s eligible costs amounted to approximately EUR 4.18 million, with maximum funding of approximately EUR 3.13 million.
As part of the eCAUSIS project, a complete QKD solution was developed, comprising a hardware module and scalable, platform-independent software for cryptographic key management (KMS). One of the project’s key outcomes was the development and validation of a proprietary QKD system using a PCIe-form-factor module, along with the integration of key optical components.
In parallel, work was carried out to industrialize the technology and prepare the solution for market deployment. Creotech was responsible for coordinating the project and for activities related to the design, development, industrialization and operation of QKD modules, including the preparation of technologies and manufacturing processes, development of a post-production testing system, testing of successive prototype batches, and preparation of assumptions for the further use and commercialization of the project results. The project aimed to develop a QKD system as a new product for the European Union market, establish mature manufacturing processes, prepare the solution for certification, and build a European supply chain for DV-QKD technology.
The company plans to bring its QKD solution to the market in 2026, marking the transition from the technology development and validation stage to commercialization.
An important element of the project was also the preparation for and incorporation of European requirements concerning security and interoperability. The system was developed with Common Criteria requirements in mind and based on the BB84 protocol, one of the most established QKD protocols, which leverages the principles of quantum mechanics to distribute cryptographic keys and enables attempts to intercept them to be detected.
As part of the project, documentation and solutions were also developed to support the future certification process and enable the system to interoperate with other components of QKD infrastructure.
The eCAUSIS project contributes to the development of the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI) and to building European capabilities, supply chains and production capacity in the field of secure quantum key distribution. The European Commission’s positive assessment confirms the proper implementation of the project from both a technical and financial perspective and provides external validation of the results achieved. For Creotech Quantum, the ability to further leverage the technology and intellectual property developed under the project is of particular importance for the commercialization and continued development of its own QKD product.
An important outcome of the eCAUSIS project is also the establishment of the foundations for scaling up production of quantum technologies in Europe. The project aimed to achieve a production capacity of up to 1,000 modules per year by the end of the project, with the potential to increase this capacity to 10,000 modules per year within two years after its completion.
The project was carried out from March 1, 2023, to May 31, 2026. Following its completion, the results of the work were assessed by the European Commission, which in September 2026 positively approved both the technical and financial aspects of the project.
The completion of the eCAUSIS project therefore marks the transition to the next stage – leveraging the developed and validated solutions in Creotech Quantum’s product and commercial activities.
The company has developed the technology, experience in its industrialization, and the capabilities required to scale up production. Combined with the growing importance of quantum-safe communication, European QKD infrastructure, and the need to build a sovereign supply chain, this creates opportunities for the further development of the system and its deployment in European secure communication networks.