The Vienna-based technology company zerothird, as the consortium leader, is driving forward an EU-funded project for quantum-secure communication in the financial sector. Together with Erste Group, IT service provider NTS, and TÜVIT, the project is designed to support the development of scalable quantum secure key distribution across European long distance communication networks, including a cryptographically protected connection between Vienna and Frankfurt. Erste Group is the first European bank to deploy quantum encryption in live operations and utilize quantum-secure communication under real-world conditions. Together, the team is currently implementing the use of entanglement-based quantum encryption for critical financial infrastructures. The project contributes to work on digital sovereignty and resilient European infrastructure, helping prepare for future developments in quantum computing and their potential implications for current cryptographic systems.
QUAPITAL is an EU co-funded research and innovation project strengthening Europe’s quantum-secure cybersecurity capabilities for trusted and resilient digital communication. QUAPITAL stands for QUAntum Photonic Intercity TrAnsmission Lattice. The QUAPITAL consortium comprises zerothird, Erste Group, TÜVIT, and NTS, bringing together European expertise in finance, digital infrastructure, quantum technology, and assurance.
At the heart of QUAPITAL lies the eQKD technology developed by zerothird, which for the first time enables scalable, quantum-secure key distribution over distances exceeding 1,000 km, supported by a network of trusted nodes, a commonly used architecture in long distance QKD networks. This infrastructure enables the generation and distribution of cryptographically protected keys and adds an additional layer of security to existing encryption methods for the transmission of sensitive data. In doing so, zerothird contributes quantum-secure communication technology to the project.
Over the 24-month project duration (2026–2027), the design, implementation, and validation of this connection will be carried out, including integration and operation within existing data center and cloud environments. Furthermore, the project contributes to standardization and certification approaches, thereby supporting the development of secure and interoperable quantum communication systems in Europe.
By demonstrating a real-world use case in the financial sector, QUAPITAL contributes to work on scalable quantum-secure infrastructure in Europe and contributes to strengthening digital sovereignty as well as securing critical infrastructure against future cyber threats.
zerothird is a developer of hardware and technology for entanglement-based quantum key distribution (eQKD), operating in the quantum-secure communications space. Together with NTS, this results in a comprehensive offering: While zerothird provides the quantum-physical key distribution, NTS handles the integration, operation, and security of the infrastructure. This allows companies to prepare their IT systems for quantum-resilient communication step by step. With Quantum Key-as-a-Service, quantum-secure key distribution is provided as a scalable service, while NTS handles the monitoring, operation, and cybersecurity of the infrastructure.
Trust is the foundation of our business. By using quantum encryption, we are consistently investing in the security of our customers.
Erste Bank
Erste Group
As a cybersecurity partner in the EU-funded QUAPITAL project, NTS supports cybersecurity-related activities. Through continuous monitoring, ongoing analysis of security metrics, security audits, and penetration tests, the IT service provider supports the secure and resilient operation of quantum secure infrastructures. This includes the development of a holistic quantum security strategy, the evaluation of existing systems, and the implementation and integration of quantum-secure technologies into real-world enterprise environments.
Quantum-secure communication is no longer a future scenario, but a reality. Our task is to make this technological innovation permanently secure.
Alexander Müllner
CEO, NTS
zerothird’s technology is based on quantum cryptography and enables the secure distribution of cryptographic keys over long distances and at exceptionally high key rates. Modular hardware and services ensure quantum-secure communication to protect critical infrastructures and data from current and future quantum attacks. Building on the successful pilot project, zerothird is also working within the framework of the EU’s CEF (Connecting Europe Facility) funding program to develop a quantum-secure communication infrastructure that spans national borders. The connection between Vienna and Frankfurt represents only the first segment of a pan-European quantum route aimed at establishing a secure European communication infrastructure.
Our goal has always been clear: to bring quantum communication out of the lab and into real-world infrastructure. With this project, we are demonstrating that scalable quantum-secure networks are already possible today.
Felix Tiefenbacher
CEO von zerothird
TÜV Informationstechnik GmbH (TÜVIT), a TÜV NORD GROUP company, provides its long-standing expertise in the evaluation and safeguarding of security critical future technologies to the QUAPITAL project. As an independent testing and validation partner, TÜVIT is responsible for the security validation and security evaluation of the systems used, as well as for comprehensive security audits along the entire communication route. TÜVIT’s tasks include the development and implementation of a comprehensive Quality Assurance Framework for the Trusted Nodes along the route. This quality and security framework defines the requirements, testing processes and security mechanisms that ensure the nodes of the quantum secure communication link are consistently trustworthy, tamper-resistant and fully verifiable. TÜVIT is also responsible for testing and evaluating the security boxes as well as the QKD system. With its expertise, TÜVIT ensures that the components and processes used in the project meet the highest security standards and that the quantum secure communication infrastructure can be operated in a trustworthy manner over the long term.
Testing is absolutely essential in the field of quantum secure technologies. Only if systems are independently tested and validated a project like QUAPITAL will have the potential to build lasting trust.
Sven Bettendorf
Experte für Quantentechnologien bei TÜVIT
QUAPITAL stands for QUAntum Photonic Intercity TrAnsmission Lattice. QUAPITAL is an EU co-funded research and innovation project strengthening Europe’s quantum-secure cybersecurity capabilities for trusted and resilient digital communication. The QUAPITAL consortium comprises zerothird, Erste Group, TÜVIT, and NTS, bringing together European expertise in finance, digital infrastructure, quantum technology, and assurance. QUAPITAL draws on patented European quantum communication technology and Nobel Prize-winning expertise in entanglement-based quantum technology. It translates European quantum communication expertise into practical cybersecurity capabilities for trusted and resilient digital communication.
Erste Group is the leading banking group in Central Europe. Since its founding as the first Austrian savings bank in 1819, Erste has stood for financial inclusion and the promotion of economic prosperity.
Today, the banking group serves around 23 million customers in eight core markets: Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia. Erste Group offers private, corporate, and institutional clients a broad range of banking and financial services – from retail and private banking to corporate and transaction banking, as well as asset management. In doing so, the Erste Group combines digital innovation with a strong branch network.
For the first quarter in 2026, the group reported a net result of 879 million euros, while its CET1 ratio stood at 14.5%. More than 55,000 employees contribute to the banking group’s success. Its total assets amounted to 450.0 billion euros.
You can find more information on Erste Group at: http://www.erstegroup.com
zerothird is an Austrian scale-up based in Vienna that develops and operates market-ready, patented quantum technology for tamper-proof communication. The company produces solutions and systems for entanglement-based quantum cryptography (eQKD), scalable for security-critical applications in Europe and beyond. Founded by scientists and engineers, zerothird combines decades of academic excellence with comprehensive product and engineering expertise. The technologies developed by zerothird are based on principles of quantum physics, the scientific foundations of which were honored with the Nobel Prize in Physics and in whose research the founders of zerothird played a key role for many years. For more information, visit www.zerothird.com
NTS Netzwerk Telekom Service AG, headquartered in Raaba-Grambach near Graz, Austria, was founded in 1995 by its owners Alexander Albler and Hermann Koller. With highly qualified engineers and extensive experience, NTS delivers resilient, secure, and future-proof IT infrastructures in the B2B sector. With more than 870 employees across 24 locations in Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Australia, China, and the United States, NTS supports over 1,000 customers in operating secure and future ready IT infrastructures in the areas of Network, Security, Collaboration, Data Center & Platform. The Group generated revenues of EUR 338 million in 2025.
TÜV Informationstechnik GmbH (headquartered in Essen, Germany) is a renowned IT security service provider and an independent testing institute and laboratory for IT security and cyber security in the context of digitalisation. It has been globally accredited since 1995. TÜVIT builds trust in security measures at the levels of business processes, data, applications and technologies through vulnerability analyses, audits and evaluations. In the detection of and response to cyberattacks, TÜVIT is a strong and capable partner, ensuring rapid restoration of operational capability. Businesses, public authorities and operators of critical infrastructures strengthen their regulatory compliance in the fields of confidentiality, integrity and availability, as well as their holistic cyber resilience and supply chain IT security.
Together with ALTER, TÜVIT forms the Business Unit Digital & Semiconductor. The business unit is part of the knowledge-based TÜV NORD GROUP, which is the byword for safety and trust worldwide for more than 150 years
Views and opinions expressed are however those oft he author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those oft he European Union. Neither the European. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority ca be held responsible for them.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those oft he author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those oft he European Union. Neither the European. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority ca be held responsible for them.