SK Square’s Swiss unit joins EU quantum satellite project

A Swiss company owned by South Korea’s SK Square Co. has joined a European project to develop a quantum communications satellite, the company said on Wednesday.

ID Quantique SA (IDQ), which specializes in quantum cryptography communications, will provide a key generation system using a quantum random number generator (QRNG) for the Eagle 1 Project, led by the European Space Agency.

The project aims to demonstrate secure quantum communications between satellites and ground stations, as well as inter-satellite links.

ID Quantique was founded in 2001 and has been a leader in quantum cryptography technology. It launched the world’s first quantum random number generator in 2002 and the world’s first quantum key distribution service in 2006.

SK Telecom Co., South Korea’s largest wireless carrier, acquired ID Quantique in 2018 and transferred it to its investment arm SK Square in 2021.

Write to Seo-Woo Jang at suwu@hankyung.com