Warsaw-listed Creotech Instruments is preparing to bring its discrete-variable Quantum Key Distribution (DV-QKD) system to market in 2026, after the European Commission signed off on the technology as part of the eCAUSIS project — an EU-backed push to give Europe a sovereign, certifiable quantum-communications stack before the US and China lock in dominance.
A PCIe Module Meant For Common Criteria Certification
Creotech Quantum's system packages the QKD source into a PCIe-form-factor module with integrated optical components and platform-independent cryptographic key-management software. The Polish company says the design targets Common Criteria security requirements built around the BB84 protocol, the workhorse discrete-variable QKD scheme, positioning the product for banks, defence agencies and telecoms rather than research labs.
"The European Commission's positive assessment... is an important confirmation of the technological maturity of our solutions," said Anna Kamińska, PhD, chief executive of Creotech Quantum S.A.
Ramp Plan: 1,000 Modules In 2026, 10,000 By 2028
The eCAUSIS project — coordinated by Creotech Instruments with Austria's AIT and Germany's Fraunhofer as partners — carries a €6.96 million total budget with a maximum €4.52 million in EU co-funding under Horizon Europe and the EuroQCI initiative. The commercialisation plan calls for 1,000 QKD modules a year by the project's May 2026 close and 10,000 units annually within two years, a manufacturing scale Europe currently lacks.
Why It Matters
Sovereign quantum-safe communications have jumped up the EU's defence-tech agenda alongside Germany's €122M NFQC-1k consortium and Proxima Fusion's HTS tape plant. Creotech's Warsaw listing gives it a public-market vehicle to fund the manufacturing build, and the eCAUSIS blessing effectively lets it sell into national EuroQCI backbones alongside AIT and Fraunhofer as recognised suppliers.
What's Next
Kamińska's team is now moving from prototype into pilot production at the company's Piaseczno facility, with certification testing tracked against a Q4 2026 milestone. If the KMS software passes Common Criteria evaluation on schedule, Creotech will become one of the few publicly traded companies globally with a shipping, certifiable QKD product — a niche that IonQ and its US peers are still working toward.
Reporting based on coverage from The Quantum Insider and Creotech Instruments' Horizon Europe disclosures.