"Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come."
— Victor Hugo
On June 7th of last year, the United Nations designated 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. This initiative not only commemorates the 100th anniversary of Heisenberg’s development of quantum mechanics - famous for the uncertainty principle -but also seeks to inspire research institutions, educators, and society at large to explore and communicate the essence of quantum science.
The celebration coincides with a century of groundbreaking discoveries in the field. In the early 20th century, physicists like Einstein and Planck placed fundamental questions about the nature of reality, particularly the dual nature of light, which exhibited both particle and wave properties. The formalization of quantum mechanics, marked by Schrödinger’s equation - also celebrating its 100th anniversary - provided a precise framework for understanding the microscopic world. Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger illustrated quantum superposition with his thought experiment involving a cat in a box with a 50% chance of survival, posing the question: What is the state of the cat when the time limit expires?
These breakthroughs paved the way for transformative inventions. By deciphering electron behavior in materials, scientists developed transistors - the foundation of modern electronics. Other pioneering advancements, such as lasers, atomic clocks, and MRI technology, defined the “1st Quantum Revolution”. During this era, quantum mechanics primarily served as a tool to explain the behavior of these innovations rather than being actively harnessed for technological advancement.
That changed in the 1960s when John Bell expanded our understanding of quantum mechanics by demonstrating the existence of quantum entanglement - an effect with no classical counterpart, offering immense technological potential. The ability to manipulate individual quantum particles spurred the development of groundbreaking applications, including quantum computing, quantum communication, and quantum sensors.
Today, we are witnessing the “2nd Quantum Revolution”. No longer just a theoretical tool, quantum mechanics is now actively leveraged to build new technologies with unique advantages. As we celebrate the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, we stand on the brink of a new era, poised for even greater discoveries and innovations.
IT has a strong research group dedicated to quantum communications, distributed across Aveiro and Lisbon, and actively participates in an international consortium, PTQCI. This group’s main goal is to develop and implement private and secure information services using quantum technologies. The team consists of researchers with backgrounds in electrical engineering, computer science, physics, and mathematics.
The diverse expertise within the Quantum Communications group (Aveiro) has enabled the development of new quantum cryptography protocols, their implementation, and experimental validation. The team has conducted field tests on multiple systems, including quantum cryptographic key distribution and quantum random number generation. Additionally, they focus on secure multi-agent computing systems supported by quantum technologies, facilitating critical services such as data mining, e-health, and intelligent transportation systems.
The group has coordinated and participated in several significant international projects, including:
Gonçalo Teixeira, a PTQCI research team member from the Lisbon hub, explains: “This project aims to develop the initial backbone of the future quantum internet, which is essential for establishing a quantum link between the ground and space. My contribution involved developing and simulating an optical payload for a CubeSat, capable of establishing a quantum link with the ground station and communicating using various quantum communication protocols, including a promising one under development by our group.”
In Lisbon, the MFBNA project has made significant discoveries in quantum entanglement and quantum correlations. Cruzeiro explains, “Bell nonlocality, a fundamental aspect of quantum mechanics, provides a powerful framework for understanding correlations. This allows for new applications in quantum computing, communication, cryptography, and sensing.”
Ricardo Faleiro, the project’s principal researcher, adds: “Bell nonlocality extends beyond quantum mechanics; any future physics framework adhering to a few natural assumptions must also exhibit nonlocality. This is not just a theoretical insight - it has profound practical implications. By leveraging Bell nonlocality, we can anchor cryptographic security in principles that remain valid even if new physics one day supersedes quantum mechanics. In our project, we study various figures of merit for non-facet defining Bell inequalities, a largely overlooked but promising area for quantum cryptography.”
Beyond research and development, the Aveiro team leads and participates in several NATO Information Systems Technology (IST) working groups. These include:
Armando Nolasco Pinto, coordinator of the Quantum Communications group of Aveiro, also chairs the Technical Committee for Standardization in Quantum Technologies, overseeing national engagement with European and international technical committees.
IT continues to make significant advancements in quantum communications, leading a diverse portfolio of projects across multiple sectors, with a particular focus on defense. The ongoing research and collaborations position IT as a key player in shaping the future of quantum technology.
Note: This article is the result of a collaborative effort by the IT Quantum Science and Technology research team.