Last week, the Danish Ministry of Defence installed Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) systems from Celare Quantum Communications, an innovator part of NATO DIANA’s 2026 cohort. The company is a spin-out company from DTU, Technical University of Denmark.
Sensitive data threatened by “harvest now, decrypt later” approach
Every day, encrypted data networks are subject to attacks by actors with malicious intent, threatening critical infrastructure and the foundation of a stable society. Even sensitive data encrypted by the latest standards today is not safe, as it is being harvested daily to be decrypted when the evolution of quantum computers brings the computing power necessary for this task, an approach known as “harvest now, decrypt later”. This is a real threat, as Google predicts that encrypted data harvested today can be decrypted by powerful quantum computers as early as 2029. QKD systems from Celare offer a solution to this urgent and fast-approaching problem through future-proof quantum encryption to secure communication for private companies, ministries of defence, and other government institutions.
NATO DIANA participation had a defining impact
According to the CSO of Celare, Tobias Gehring, the NATO DIANA accelerator has had a defining impact on the company:
“Our collaboration with partners and participation in the NATO DIANA accelerator has provided us with insights and a network that allows us to transform research into real quantum products at a much faster pace. This has led us to a new stage where we can truly make a difference for secure communications and thereby for the national security of NATO Allies,” he says.
The Ministry of Defence is one of four Danish ministries integrating the new technology into their IT systems. The integrations are part of the QCI (Danish Quantum Communication Infrastructure) project funded by the European Commission, a collaboration of government institutions, universities, and private sector companies to implement and test quantum-secure infrastructure.
“Celare’s collaboration with the Danish Ministry of Defence is a significant milestone, and a powerful example of what NATO DIANA aims to achieve: turning cutting-edge solutions into deployable capability for Allied security. We are very pleased to see Celare’s technology moving from innovation to adoption, and we look forward to supporting them further as they build on this momentum and continue to improve quantum-secure capabilities for the Alliance,” said Ryan Benitez, Chief Commercial Officer at NATO DIANA.
CSO of Celare Quantum Communications, Tobias Gehring, standing in front of the Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) systems now installed at the Danish Ministry of Defence. Photo is from DTU, Technical University of Denmark.
What is Quantum Key Distribution (QKD)?
The QKD System from Celare offers the exchange of secret keys for data encryption, using randomness based on the quantum states of light. This is a new form of symmetric key distribution based on the laws of quantum physics that offers future-proof protection against attacks from quantum computers. The Continuous Variable (CV) quantum approach allows the QKD technology to work within existing fibre telecom networks without modifications.