DTU establishes quantum technology centre

Researchers at DTU and the Niels Bohr Institute have developed a new technology for creating a single-photon-based link for unbreakable communication and have had the technology implemented so that it can be applied to the existing fibre connection between the two institutions. The technology has great potential for protecting critical infrastructure worldwide and offers excellent opportunities for the Danish business sector.

The US National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) is responsible for standardising cryptography to protect IT security in the United States and in practice also worldwide. NIST recently anounced which quantum-proof cryptographic protocols will be the first to be standardised. The work entails that researchers from a.o. DTU will test, characterise, and detect holes in the published algorithms.

DTU is involved in developing what may become Denmark's first quantum computer, a project supported by the Novo Nordisk Foundation and headed by the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen. DTU will develop optical chips that can handle and process the optical qubits developed at the Niels Bohr Institute. This comprises the design, manufacture, and demonstration of optical quantum computer chips.

In the new research project, Adequade—which is supported by the European Defence Fund (EDF)—DTU and 35 European partners will develop new technology utilising quantum sensors to navigate maps of the Earth's gravity field. DTU researchers will participate in developing and testing quantum accelerometers that can measure changes in the gravity field with high precision.

Quantum computers will be able to make calculations of complex chemical and biochemical processes with an accuracy exceeding that of conventional computers. New research project will solve the big challenge of transferring quantum chemical calculations from conventional computers to quantum computers. In connection with the project, an IBM-Q quantum hub will be established, which will be the first of its kind in Scandinavia.

As our energy increasingly comes from thousands of wind turbines and photovoltaic systems, it becomes a significantly more complex assignment to calculate and ensure the necessary stability of the power grid and that cables and transformers are not overloaded. DTU's researchers are the first to have used an actual quantum computer to perform these calculations, and the results are promising. The calculations have been made online with relatively small IBM-quantum computers with five and seven qubits.

The establishment of a NATO-center for quantum technology include test facilities at DTU where the quantum technology solutions can be developed and produced. They will serve as part of an innovation hub where new ideas are developed and tested. This could be the development of quantum sensors, quantum encryption devices, and quantum computers. DTU's subsidiary DFM – Denmark's National Metrology Institute also plays a significant role.

In the project CryptQ—funded by Innovation Fund Denmark—hardware is being developed that enables quantum-encrypted communication on the existing IT infrastructure. Already halfway through its three-year life—the first milestone was reached: For the first time in the Nordic region, an encrypted data transmission secured with quantum keys was successfully performed in February 2022. The transmission took place via a fibre connection internally in Danske Bank.