Delft, The Netherlands – 12 May 2026 – Q*Bird, the Dutch leader in quantum secure communication, is proud to be part of Photonics for Quantum (P4Q), a new €50 million European pilot line launching in 2026 to industrialise the photonic chip technologies that will power the next generation of quantum systems.
Coordinated by the University of Twente and spanning 12 European countries, P4Q brings together 29 leading partners from across industry, research and technology development to solve one of the most urgent challenges in quantum, how to turn high-performance photonic components from promising lab demonstrations into reliable, manufacturable building blocks at scale for real-world deployment.
For quantum communication, that challenge is especially critical. From entangled photon generation to fast modulation and low-loss transmission, photonic integrated circuits are becoming foundational to the future of secure quantum networks. But to move from prototypes to operational infrastructure, these technologies must become reproducible, scalable and ready for industrial manufacturing. P4Q is designed to make exactly that transition possible.
Building the missing link between photonics research and deployed quantum networks
Quantum photonic chips sit at the heart of many of Europe’s most strategic emerging technologies, including quantum secure communications, quantum sensing and quantum computing. Yet despite rapid innovation, the path from design to repeatable production remains one of the sector’s biggest barriers to industrialisation.
“The challenge is not building a single high-performance component,” said Dr. Joshua Slater, CTO of Q*Bird. “It is ensuring that components perform consistently, under operational conditions and are producible at high-yield. That is what will define telecom-grade quantum infrastructure.”
P4Q addresses this directly by developing the manufacturing methods, design frameworks and packaging capabilities needed to produce quantum photonic chips consistently and at scale. Across the project, partners will develop Process Design Kits (PDKs) and Assembly Design Kits (ADKs), while advancing multiple photonic material platforms including silicon nitride (SiN), thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) and alumina (AlOx).
The ambition is clear to bring critical technologies to TRL-8 and MRL-8, enabling large-scale demonstration and paving the way for industrial uptake across Europe’s quantum ecosystem, while reinforcing Europe’s technological sovereignty.
Q*Bird drives the quantum secure communication use case
Within the project, Q*Bird takes on a key role as a lead user for the quantum communication use case. In this position, Q*Bird ensures that the photonic technologies developed in P4Q are aligned with the system-level requirements of operational quantum communication networks.
Its contribution spans several core activities. Together with partners including Thales, Thales Alenia Space, TNO, Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT), Ligentec, and the University of Twente, Q*Bird will work on the designs and perform system-level testing for photonic integrated circuits tailored to quantum secure communication. This includes evaluation of entanglement quality and quantum teleportation capability.
This role places Q*Bird at the interface between component innovation and deployed quantum infrastructure, helping translate chip-level advances into technologies that can perform under real operational conditions.
“Reliability and interoperability are not optional features,” added Remon Berrevoets, CTIO and Co-Founder of Q*Bird. “They are prerequisites for any infrastructure that aims to operate at a national or European level. With P4Q, we are embedding those principles directly into the hardware layer.”
Field-proven quantum networks shaping next-generation hardware
Q*Bird’s contribution to P4Q is grounded in real-world deployment. Q*Bird has already implemented multiple operational MDI-QKD networks across Europe in high-security environments, including government, telecom, research and critical infrastructure. These deployments include multi-node metropolitan networks using hub-and-spoke architectures, enabling secure and scalable quantum key distribution without trusted nodes.
“Q*Bird is not developing technology in isolation,” said Remon Berrevoets, CTIO and Co-Founder of Q*Bird. “We are deploying systems in environments where reliability, scalability and security are critical. That experience directly informs how we design the next generation of photonic hardware.”
From pilot line to industrial-grade quantum systems
For Q*Bird, participation in P4Q is not only a strategic research collaboration, but a direct step toward strengthening its industrial-grade quantum communication capabilities.
The project enables the advancement of photonic technologies that are critical for scaling quantum secure communication systems, supporting higher performance, improved integration and deployment across operational networks.
“Quantum secure infrastructure is defined by what can be deployed, not what can be demonstrated. It requires components that can be manufactured reliably, integrated efficiently and deployed at scale,” said Dr. Joshua Slater, CTO of Q*Bird. “Through P4Q, we are helping shape the photonic hardware that future quantum communication systems will depend on. This is a vital step in turning quantum networking from bespoke engineering into an industrial reality.”
Scaling quantum secure infrastructure for a sovereign Europe
P4Q is supported by €25 million from Europe, matched by €25 million from national governments across the participating countries. It reflects a broader European commitment to strengthening sovereignty in quantum technologies and securing the manufacturing capabilities needed to remain globally competitive.
With ever evolving threats, quantum communication systems being deployed in operational networks, the focus now shifts to scaling infrastructure. This requires increasing reliance on advanced photonic hardware that can deliver performance, interoperability and manufacturability in equal measure, ensuring resilience against both cyber and future quantum-enabled adversaries.
“Europe must not only invent quantum technologies, it must also build the capability to manufacture and scale them,” said Dr. Ingrid Romijn, CEO and Co-Founder of Q*Bird. “P4Q brings together the right expertise across the value chain to make that happen. For Q*Bird, it is an opportunity to help define the hardware foundations of Europe’s future quantum communication infrastructure.”
By connecting research excellence with industrial execution, the initiative accelerates the transition from isolated breakthroughs to deployable systems, opening the way for resilient quantum devices in communications, sensing and computing.
For Q*Bird, the project reinforces a clear mission to build secure, scalable and future-ready quantum communication systems for Europe and beyond.
“With P4Q now underway, Q*Bird is helping lay the photonic foundations for the next era of quantum secure infrastructure, where industrial-grade performance, trusted security and scalable manufacturing go hand in hand,” adds Remon Berrevoets, CTIO and Co-Founder of Q*Bird.
European collaboration across the full quantum value chain
P4Q brings together a broad consortium spanning research institutes, semiconductor foundries, deep-tech companies and system integrators across Europe, coordinated by the University of Twente.
For a full overview of the consortium and project scope, please refer to the official announcement by the University of Twente (read here).
In the Netherlands, P4Q is supported by Oost NL and financially enabled by QDNL, Nanolab NL and the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Media Relations Contact:
Milu Sini Lal
Marketing & Communication Specialist
Note: Q*Bird rebranded as Falqon® Systems in September 2026.