The first blocks that we envision within the timeline of the project is to populate nodes in the following 6 cities:

Bratislava
Trnava
Trencin
Nitra
Kosice
Presov

This approach is based on entanglement to build an international testbed for quantum communication is twofold. On one hand, growing the size of the local nodes will allow for the implementation and studies of more complex topologies while maintaining a stable backbone composed of the few distant nodes. On the other hand, the added value of the central provider being an entangled photon pair sources allows for the study of quantum communication protocols going beyond just QKD for the future internet.

This work package will be about the development, fabrication, and installation of several nodes to create the backbone of a quantum network capable of securely exchanging randomness according to the law of physics.

These nodes from the point of view of the upper layers of the network, will essentially be black boxes, highly secured keystores, capable of providing a continuous supply of key material.

Planned infrastructure:

Entangled photon-pair source developed within the project.

From the laboratory to a national network

The first important milestone was the successful development and testing of an entangled photon-pair source. Laboratory measurements confirmed that the source produces high-quality entangled photons suitable for quantum key distribution.

The technology was then tested in a multi-node laboratory network before being deployed outside Bratislava. This step was important for identifying and solving practical challenges before moving to longer-distance connections.

First detector deployment

2023 – The first set of four superconducting single-photon detectors was installed at the International Laser Center (ILC) in Bratislava, marking an important first step towards the future network.

First quantum key exchange between remote locations

2024 – The project successfully demonstrated the exchange of a shared random sequence of bits between two remote locations in the Bratislava area using entangled photons.

Participants of the meeting Pavol Surovec (QUTE.sk), Peter Rapčan (IP SAS), Vladimír Bužek (IP SAS), Djeylan Aktas (IP SAS, project leader), Pavol Tanuška, (MTF STU, vice-dean), Igor Halenár, (MTF STU), Mário Ziman, (IP SAS director) Andrej Buček, (ILC – CVTI)

Preparing the first node outside Bratislava

11/2023 – The project team met with representatives of the Faculty of Materials Science and Technology of STU in Trnava to prepare the first skQCI node outside the Bratislava area. Trnava was selected as an important location for expanding the national quantum network, with preparatory work beginning shortly afterwards.

The meeting marked the start of cooperation between the project team and the Trnava faculty and laid the foundation for the first cross-metropolitan quantum communication link. The local academic community was also introduced to the goals and challenges of building Slovakia’s national quantum communication infrastructure.

4 of the 6 Nodes of skQCI demonstrated in one of the aboratories.

Six-node quantum network demonstrated in the laboratory

12/2024 – The skQCI team successfully demonstrated a six-node quantum communication network in the laboratory, bringing together the key technologies developed within the project. The fully meshed setup enabled secure key exchange between different pairs of nodes and provided an important test environment for the network architecture, quantum key distribution systems and supporting software.

The demonstration showed that the technologies developed within skQCI could work together as an integrated network, providing a foundation for their subsequent deployment across Slovakia.

Djeylan Aktas introduces the skQCI nodes to Céline Gauer (Director-General of the Taskforce RECOVER), Marie Donnay (Director, SG RECOVER), Vladimír Šucha (Head of the European Commission representation in Slovakia), Isabel Grilo (Director, DG ECFIN) and Alena Sabelová (State Secretary of the Deputy Prime Minister)

EU delegation visits the skQCI project

05/12/2024 – High-level European Commission delegation visited the Slovak Academy of Sciences to see how EU-supported research is helping build Slovakia’s quantum communication infrastructure. The delegation visited the skQCI laboratories and saw the first network nodes being prepared for deployment outside Bratislava.

The visit highlighted the importance of the project in strengthening Slovakia’s research infrastructure and developing practical expertise in quantum-secure communication.

Preparing the Trenčín node

12/2024 – QUTE.sk and the Institute of Physics SAS agreed with Alexander Dubček University of Trenčín to prepare the next skQCI network node. The cooperation marked another step in expanding the entanglement-based quantum network across western Slovakia.

President visits the skQCI laboratory

12/03/2025 – President of the Slovak Republic Peter Pellegrini visited the skQCI laboratories at the Institute of Physics Slovan AcademyS. The team presented the four-node fully meshed QKD prototype, including a live demonstration of secure key generation and the system’s ability to detect interference with the optical connection.

The visit was followed by a high-level meeting at the Presidential Palace, bringing together senior representatives of the skQCI project and the Office of the President of the Slovak Republic to discuss the future of quantum communication in Slovakia. The meeting focused on strengthening cooperation between the scientific community and public institutions, as well as the potential role of future quantum-secured communication infrastructure in Slovakia.

Read more about the President’s visit →

President Pellegrini touches the optical fibre, triggering the QKD system’s immediate detection of the disturbance.

High-level meeting at the Presidential Palace on March 27, 2025

Oliver de Vries and Kevin Füchsel (both from Quantum Optics Jena), team of RCQI IP SAS: Younes Benamara, Djeylan Aktas (team lead), Saeid Salari and Peter Rapčan.

First fully meshed QKD prototype

03/2025 – The skQCI team successfully installed and tested its first fully meshed quantum key distribution (QKD) prototype at the Research Center for Quantum Information in Bratislava, in collaboration with Quantum Optics Jena. The system connected four users, allowing secure keys to be generated between every pair of nodes and demonstrating the practical operation of an entanglement-based quantum network.

This milestone showed that the technology developed in the laboratory was ready to move towards deployment in a larger network. The tests also demonstrated that the system could detect changes in the optical connection that could indicate an attempted intrusion.

The ZeroThird team during the installation of the first skQCI quantum communication node outside Bratislava, at the Faculty of Materials Science and Technology in Trnava.

First skQCI node outside Bratislava

04/2025 – The first skQCI quantum communication node outside Bratislava was deployed in Trnava in April 2025, marking an important step from laboratory demonstrations towards a real national network. The node, hosted at the Faculty of Materials Science and Technology in Trnava, brought together quantum communication equipment for entanglement-based key distribution and created a new test site for operating the technology under real-world conditions.

This deployment marked the beginning of the expansion of the skQCI infrastructure beyond the capital and laid the foundation for future connections between Slovak cities.

Read more about the Trnava deployment →

Deployment of the node in Košice

Deploying the Košice QKD node

09/2025 – The skQCI team deployed the Toshiba QKD system at Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, creating one end of the new quantum-secured link between Košice and Prešov. The installation and testing of the equipment marked an important step towards putting the first commercial QKD link in Slovakia into operation.

The new node became part of the national skQCI infrastructure and was officially launched together with the Košice–Prešov link in December 2025.

The signing of the Memorandum at The Office of the President of the Slovak Republic.

Office of the President joins the skQCI initiative

28/10/2025 – The Office of the President of the Slovak Republic became the 13th signatory of the Memorandum on Cooperation in the Development of Quantum Communication Infrastructure in Slovakia. The signing followed the President’s visit to the skQCI laboratories in March and strengthened cooperation between the scientific community and public institutions in developing quantum-secured communication infrastructure.

The Memorandum was signed at the Presidential Palace by representatives of QUTE.sk and the Office of the President, marking a further step towards bringing quantum communication technologies closer to public-sector applications.

Discussion attended by Mário Ziman, Djeylan Aktas, Pavol Surovec, Vladimír Bužek.

Peter Vodráška, Head of the Office of the President of the SR and Mário Ziman, Chair of the QUTE.sk sign the Memorandum.

Roman Konečný, Director of the National Security Authority and Mário Ziman, chairman of Slovak National Center for Quantum Technologies, signing a Memorandum of Cooperation on quantum secure communication.

Cooperation with the National Security Authority

12/2025 – the National Security Authority (NBÚ) and QUTE.sk signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on the development of quantum communication infrastructure in Slovakia. The partnership formalised cooperation in quantum and post-quantum security, including the development and operation of quantum communication networks, knowledge exchange and support for future research and innovation.

First national link Košice-Prešov opened

11/12/2025 – Slovakia launched its first fully operational quantum-secured communication link, connecting Košice and Prešov. The link uses commercial QKD equipment from Toshiba, based on the prepare-and-measure approach, and was deployed over the existing fibre infrastructure between the two universities.

The system generates and continuously supplies quantum keys for securing classical communications, providing the first operational demonstration of commercial QKD technology within the skQCI network. The Košice–Prešov link became the first fully operational segment of Slovakia’s national quantum communication infrastructure and an important step towards connecting different QKD technologies across the country.

PRESS RELEASE →

The first public demonstration of quantum-secured communication using a commercial QKD solution, observed by more than 200 high-school students in the UPJŠ Auditorium in Košice.

Node of the skQCI quantum communication infrastructure located at Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice

Node of the skQCI quantum communication infrastructure located at University of Prešov

The skQCI project presented during a visit to ID Quantique in Geneva, Switzerland, where the team learned more about the QKD technology selected for the Bratislava metropolitan network.

QKD equipment for the Bratislava metropolitan network

12/2025 – The project reached an important delivery milestone with the arrival of commercial QKD equipment from ID Quantique, designed for the future metropolitan quantum communication network in Bratislava. The systems are intended to connect several institutions within the city and provide secure key distribution over existing fibre-optic infrastructure.

The equipment forms an important part of the national skQCI infrastructure and complements the project’s own entanglement-based technology with commercial prepare-and-measure QKD systems. Its delivery marked the start of the next phase of deployment, leading to the later integration and commissioning of the Bratislava metropolitan network.

PRESS RELEASE about the collaboration with IonQ →

Deployment of Metropolitan network

18/03/2026 –

ID Quantique workshop

28/04/2026 –

The Welinq team during the installation and commissioning of the QDrive quantum memory at the Institute of Physics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences.

Quantum memory joins the skQCI infrastructure

06/2026 – The QDrive quantum memory, developed by the French company Welinq, arrived at the Institute of Physics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. Acquired within the skQCI project, QDrive is a commercially available quantum memory designed to temporarily store quantum information and release it on demand.

The system was installed and tested by the Welinq team and will support research into quantum networking, entanglement distribution and future quantum repeaters. Its integration gives Slovak researchers access to an important technology for moving beyond simple point-to-point quantum links towards larger and more scalable quantum networks.

PRESS RELEASE →

The Slovak part of the project was presented by David Polzoni, who provided an overview of the current progress.

Continuing towards a connected European quantum network

2026 – The completion of skQCI is not the end of Slovakia’s quantum communication activities. In 2026, QUTE.sk and the Institute of Physics SAS continued this work through the Central European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (CEQCI) project, bringing together partners from Slovakia, Austria, Hungary and Romania.

The next phase focuses on connecting national quantum communication infrastructures across borders, addressing interoperability, security and operational requirements, and preparing experimental cross-border links. This work builds directly on the infrastructure and experience developed through skQCI and contributes to the wider EuroQCI vision of an interconnected European quantum communication network.

Ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the inauguration of the skQCI project. From left to right: Tomáš Schwarz, Director of the Information Technology Department at the Office of the President of the Slovak Republic; Matej Šalmík, Director of the National Cyber Security Centre of the National Security Authority; Catherine Simondi, ID Quantique / IonQ; Šimon Mičunek, Director General of the Digital Agenda Division at the Ministry of Investments, Regional Development and Informatization of the Slovak Republic (MIRRI SR); Vladimír Bužek, Founder of the Research Center for Quantum Information at the Institute of Physics SAS; and Mário Ziman, Director of the Institute of Physics SAS.

Project Coordinator Djeylan Aktas from the Institute of Physics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences briefly presented the project’s key achievements and demonstrated the operation of the quantum communication network.

National network completed

23/06/2026 – Slovakia officially launched its first national quantum communication infrastructure, developed within the skQCI project as part of the European EuroQCI initiative. The network connects research institutions, universities and strategic public institutions across Slovakia and represents the completion of the project’s main deployment phase.

The infrastructure combines several complementary technologies: an entanglement-based QKD network in western Slovakia, commercial prepare-and-measure QKD connecting Košice and Prešov and a Bratislava metropolitan QKD network connecting key public institutions. The eastern and western parts are interconnected using post-quantum cryptography, creating a national testbed for combining different approaches to quantum-secure communication.

With the infrastructure brought into operation, Slovakia has moved from individual laboratory demonstrations and prototype systems to a functioning national quantum communication network and is now prepared to contribute to the future interconnected European quantum communication infrastructure.

PRESS RELEASE →

Planned infrastructure:

What has been achieved?

Deploying the national network

From the laboratory to a national network

First detector deployment

First quantum key exchange between remote locations

Preparing the first node outside Bratislava

Six-node quantum network demonstrated in the laboratory

EU delegation visits the skQCI project

Preparing the Trenčín node

President visits the skQCI laboratory

First fully meshed QKD prototype

First skQCI node outside Bratislava

Deploying the Košice QKD node

Office of the President joins the skQCI initiative

Cooperation with the National Security Authority

First national link Košice-Prešov opened

QKD equipment for the Bratislava metropolitan network

Deployment of Metropolitan network

ID Quantique workshop

Quantum memory joins the skQCI infrastructure

Continuing towards a connected European quantum network

National network completed

The infrastructure of the national quantum communication network of the skQCI project by stages: