{"id":27048,"date":"2025-11-11T15:38:04","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T13:38:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.carnet.hr\/?p=27048"},"modified":"2025-11-11T15:38:04","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T13:38:04","slug":"na-institutu-ruder-boskovic-irb-prvi-puta-predstavljeni-funkcionalni-gradivni-blokovi-za-kvantnu-komunikaciju-izradeni-i-integrirani-u-hrvatskoj","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carnet.hr\/en\/na-institutu-ruder-boskovic-irb-prvi-puta-predstavljeni-funkcionalni-gradivni-blokovi-za-kvantnu-komunikaciju-izradeni-i-integrirani-u-hrvatskoj\/","title":{"rendered":"At the Ru\u0111er Bo\u0161kovi\u0107 Institute (IRB), functional building blocks for quantum communication, made and integrated in Croatia, were presented for the first time."},"content":{"rendered":"

At the Ru\u0111er Bo\u0161kovi\u0107 Institute (IRB) today, functional building blocks for quantum communication, manufactured and integrated in Croatia, were publicly presented for the first time. At the heart of these quantum developments is a team of scientists, engineers, and technicians from the Ru\u0111er Bo\u0161kovi\u0107 Institute (IRB) and the company Oda\u0161ilja\u010di i veze d.o.o. (OIV). The components are part of the Croatian Quantum Communication Infrastructure \u2013 CroQCI, a project that is building the foundations of ultra-secure communication in the Republic of Croatia with domestic knowledge and technology. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Project CroQCI<\/a> under the leadership of the Croatian Academic and Research Network \u2013 CARNET, and with the scientific guidance of IRB, it brings together key national research and scientific institutions, higher education institutions, public institutions, and public enterprises with the ultimate goal of strengthening national cybersecurity in accordance with the latest scientific achievements.<\/p>\n

Consortium on the task: domestic network, European standards<\/strong><\/h4>\n

At the heart of this media event was a joint team from IRB and OIV that designed, developed, and produced the components and systems enabling quantum key distribution (QKD) on an existing optical fiber network in Zagreb, implemented by OIV.<\/p>\n

You were facing increasingly powerful cyber threats, quantum communication<\/strong> offers a solution that does not depend on computing power or algorithms, but on the laws of quantum physics. This sets a new benchmark sovereignty and resilience<\/strong> digital systems: communication interception can be detected, and key compromise prevented from the outset. Today's presentation shows that Croatia, thanks to the CroQCI consortium, IRB, and OIV, is not waiting for technological solutions from other countries but is developing technology degrees at home<\/strong>, sovereign, with local knowledge and technology.<\/p>\n

Today's media demonstration showcased the three pillars of the future network. First, quantum receivers with optical modules and photon detectors, including the integration of superconducting photon detectors crucial for high-sensitivity quantum signal registration. Second, a quantum operator system that generates quantum-entangled photon pairs, the basis for the most secure practical implementation of quantum communication today. Third, hardware encryptors based on FPGA chips, which encrypt messages with quantum-generated keys. This confirmed that quantum communication is not confined to the laboratory but is functioning in practice on the optical network of CroQCI members in the city of Zagreb.<\/p>\n

Sovereignty as a Specification: Safer Connections, More Resilient Systems<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The importance of this technology is multilayered as it brings national sovereign access to secure communication and lays the foundation for further development of quantum networks and systems in Croatia.<\/p>\n

\u201eThese components were developed in Croatia at IRIS, using our knowledge and resources. This is another confirmation of how IRIS, through excellence and collaboration, remains a key player in building Croatia's scientific and technological future. IRIS will continue to actively support and lead the development of quantum communication in Croatia through the CroQCI project, and further strengthen research in this area. The advancement of this research will also be enabled by the new infrastructure we are building as part of the capital project O-ZIP,\u201c said the Director of IRIS, Ph.D. David M. Smith<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\tOur goal is simple and strategically important: to build a domestic, sovereign, and resilient communication network that relies on the laws of quantum physics rather than computing power to protect network connectivity, thereby raising the level of the state's cybersecurity. In the coming period, we will focus on connecting Croatian quantum infrastructure with the European quantum network, combining terrestrial and satellite technologies. Today's demonstration shows that we are not in the stage of promises, but in the stage of work; Croatia's quantum link is functional, and the multidisciplinary knowledge gathered enables further expansion of the infrastructure within Croatia, as well as towards the EU.\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t