The QuNET initiative interconnects German quantum networks
On 28.10.2026, the 7-year research project QuNET successfully demonstrated the interconnection of various quantum networks from the federal states of Bavaria (Erlangen), Berlin and Thuringia (Erfurt). These individual quantum networks and the one in Saxony (Dresden) had been set up in separate state initiatives during the project period. As part of the live demonstration, they were officially put into operation individually by political representatives of their respective federal states, before the Federal Minister of Research (Dorothee Bär) together with the spokesperson of the QuNET project (Prof. Dr. Andreas Tünnermann) and the scientific director of the live presentation in Berlin (FAU-Prof. Dr. Prof. Christoph Marquardt) in Berlin were able to connect all quantum networks live at the touch of a button. This was followed by a live demonstration in which exemplary health data was transmitted in encrypted way in the form of fictitious pharmacy bills – of course with quantum-safe encryption using Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) keys and therefore not decryptable, as an interception of key material would be immediately physically noticed and consequently not included in the key usage. By transmitting via existing fiber optic links, not only the interconnection of independent quantum networks was demonstrated at the same time, but also the integration of components and systems for quantum communication into real and existing communication infrastructures.
The QUNET initiative, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR), includes the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF, the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute for Telecommunications HHI, the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL), the Institute of Communications and Navigation of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU: Chair of Optical Quantum Technologies).
The QuNET initiative consisted of several key experiments:
- 2021: Demonstration in Bonn of a quantum-secured communication link in the government district
- 2023: Combination of free-beam and fiber-optic links in Thuringia to form a hybrid quantum link
- 2024: Building a multi-node network with users in Berlin
- 2025: Connection of a mobile quantum communication node with an aircraft over Bavaria
This demonstration was thus an important step for the practical usability and future of quantum communication in Germany.
further links:
https://www.fau.de/2026/10/news/forschung/quantenforschung/abschluss-der-qunet-initiative/