Singaporean satellite-based quantum key distribution (QKD) operator SpeQtral is set to collaborate with QuantLR, to create a solution that can connect any two points on earth.
Based in Israel, QuantLR also provides QKD and specialises in fiber optics.
QKD is a secure communication method that enables two parties to produce a random secret key known only to them. This can be used to encrypt and decrypt messages.
This collaboration will also be facilitated by a grant by the Singapore-Israel Industrial R&D (SIIRD) Foundation, which is a corporation between Enterprise Singapore (ESG) – the republic’s trade promotion arm – as well as the Israel Innovation Authority.
The SIIRD Foundation serves to foster industrial R&D collaborations between companies in Singapore and Israel.
As part of their partnership, SpeQtral and QuantLR will develop a space-to-terrestrial Secure Quantum Node that can transfer encryption keys seamlessly between the space and terrestrial fiber domains.
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This process requires a secure transfer node that can combine the key management for standard QKD while handling the scheduling complexities of space-based system with windows of availability.
The heads of SpeQtral and QuantLR believe their project addresses both the hardware and software needs of this process.
“Quantum Cryptography and Encryption solutions are proven to be the only absolutely secured resolution to any eavesdropping and hacking attempts of communication lines – both now and in the future,” explains Sholmi Cohen, CEO of QuantLR.
He estimates that sales in the quantum cryptography market will reach over US$24 billion ($31.9 billion) in 2025.
Cohen believes that his collaboration with SpeQtral will accelerate QuantLR’s “development process and enable us to offer the global market a comprehensive and cost-effective solution”.
Agreeing, SpeQtral’s CEO Chune Yang Lum says “QKD is poised to play a central role in tomorrow’s cryptographic and communications infrastructure”.
