This follows on from 120 years of one of the most significant breakthroughs in communications – the first transatlantic radio signal – scientists are once again looking to send invisible messages across the Atlantic, but this time, intending to make sure nobody can listen in.
The project, HYPERSPACE, is pushing beyond the limits of fibre-based quantum links and making space the next frontier in ultra-secure communication. By sending quantum-secured light between satellites and ground stations, the researchers are creating a future quantum Internet that could span continents and keep data secure by design.
Although a fully operational transatlantic quantum link is some years away, HYPERSPACE aims to address the core scientific and technological challenges that would make such a breakthrough possible.
The project is widely regarded as a modern echo of Marconi’s pioneering transatlantic radio transmission in 1901, which laid the foundation for wireless communication. HYPERSPACE is hoped to mark the beginning of a quantum-powered Internet built not on cables and code but on entangled particles and the laws of physics.
“HYPERSPACE is working on a way to generate totally secure encryption keys at a distance through space using quantum technology,” said project coordinator Professor Dr. Fabian Steinlechner. “One day, this could connect entire continents with communication that’s impossible to hack. Today, Europe and Canada are building the foundation for that future by testing how we can transmit quantum signals between satellites and the ground.”
Previous breakthroughs – like China’s Micius satellite transmitting quantum signals between Asia and Europe – have demonstrated what’s possible, but the Atlantic remains unconquered. HYPERSPACE aims to change that by developing the technology and protocols necessary to establish a secure, cross-continental quantum connection, thereby opening the door to a truly global quantum Internet.
The project is backed by the European Union along with the Government of Canada and supported by the Quantum Flagship.
What is entanglement?
At the core of HYPERSPACE is a phenomenon known as entanglement. Entangled particles behave like identical twins. The entangled twins can have one of two eye colours, blue or brown. When we determine the eye colour of one of the twins, we then know what the eye colour of the other twin is.
According to quantum theory, the eye colour is not determined until we measure, or look, at it. The results are completely random, but randomly, just the same, even if they’re thousands of miles apart.
This means you can use them to securely generate random encryption keys in a way that makes it impossible to copy or spy on, not even with quantum computers and their capabilities.
Quantum communication is protected by the strange physics of entangled particles. These quantum signals can be sent through fibre-optic cables or even beamed through open space, but unlike conventional data, any efforts to intercept them breaks the connection and exposes the eavesdropper.
Most quantum communication systems currently rely on photons travelling through fibre-optic cables to share encryption keys. But fibre-based systems on the ground can only go so far; after a few hundred kilometres, the signal weakens and becomes unreliable.
This is why HYPERSPACE is looking to space to explore how quantum signals can be sent between satellites and ground stations, to facilitate secure communication over vast distances.
High-dimensional entanglement
The researchers are exploring how to encode multiple qubits onto one single photon to create ‘high-dimensional entanglement,’ which packs more information in at once.
Quantum entanglement is a powerful method but typically it only allows one bit of information at a time to be sent. High-dimensional entanglement opens up the possibility to send more bits of information, with fewer chances of slow downs or interference.
“High-dimensional entanglement also makes the whole system tougher: if there’s interference (like noise or hacking attempts), the signal keeps going strong because it’s spread across more channels. In short, it means faster speeds, greater security, and more information packed into every pulse of quantum light,” explained Professor Dr Steinlechner.
Although the idea of a space-based quantum Internet is still very much in its infancy, HYPERSPACE is concentrating on building the proof of concept on shorter terrestrial free-space optical links. The overall goal is to develop and test the core technologies needed to make secure quantum communication between Europe and Canada possible – from advanced photon sources to protocols for high-dimensional entanglement. If successful, it would pave the way for a fully operational quantum link in the future, offering a blueprint for intercontinental quantum networks.
The longer-term goal is a quantum Internet: a global system for secure data sharing, precise navigation, advanced sensing, and Cloud computing – all protected from hackers using the fundamental laws of physics. Unlike traditional encryption, which powerful computers can eventually crack, quantum communication makes eavesdropping impossible: any attempt to intercept the signal would instantly leave a trace.
Europe taking the lead
While global interest in quantum networks is growing rapidly, Europe has established a strong lead in quantum optics and photonic integration, both of which are essential for scaling quantum communications from laboratory experiments to spaceborne networks.
Under the Horizon Europe programme, the EU is co-funding HYPERSPACE alongside Canada’s Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC).
The initiative brings together scientists from research institutes across Germany, France, Italy, Austria, and Canada. Together, they’re building the full technology chain; quantum light sources, signal encoders, detectors, and space-compatible optical systems, resulting in proof-of-concept demonstrations of high-dimensional quantum entanglement transmission through real atmospheric links.
The HYPERSPACE consortium, which will finish in September this year, consists of eight research institutions from Europe and Canada, including Fraunhofer IOF in Germany, CEA-Leti in France, TU Wien in Austria, the Universities of Padua and Pavia in Italy, and, from Canada, the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique, the University of Toronto, and the University of Waterloo.
