"Quantum computers are in their infancy, but they are already beginning to pose a threat. Encrypted data can be captured today, and later, when we have a quantum computer, that information can be decrypted." Faced with this scenario, described by Enrique Sánchez, head of the European Union's Quantum Flagship (QCN) project, the Catalan government (Generalitat) wants to make things difficult for post-quantum hackers—that is, cybercriminals who, in the near—but unspecified—future, could use quantum technology to steal public data, such as information processed by the Palau de la Generalitat (the seat of the Catalan government). To this end, the government has proposed creating the Barcelona Quantum Ring, a pioneering network in Europe that will cost 8 million euros and will be protected against attacks that could be perpetrated using future quantum technologies. This system will include the Catalan government's main strategic centers, such as the headquarters of the Catalan Government, health services, security and emergency services, corporate data processing centers, Barcelona City Hall, and other research nodes. Broadly speaking, the initiative will consist of installing QKD (quantum key distribution) technology equipment on the existing communications network using mechanisms that, instead of relying solely on mathematical methods, utilize properties of light to generate and share keys between points in the network. According to the Catalan Government, this will allow for the detection of any interception attempt and the establishment of "communications with very high guarantees of confidentiality." The bidding process to find companies capable of installing this quantum key distribution network, which the Catalan Government expects will connect 12 nodes, was launched this Monday. The first four will be connected in 2027, and three of them are already confirmed to be the Palau de la Generalitat (the seat of the Catalan government), the Center for Telecommunications and Information Technologies (CTTI), and Egara, the central complex of the Mossos d'Esquadra (the Catalan police force) in Sabadell, where strategic command and the force's most specialized units are centralized. Later, the following are planned: the headquarters of the Catalan Tax Agency; the Mossos d'Esquadra police station in Les Corts – the Mossos' command center in Barcelona; CATNIX (Catalonia's neutral internet point for the entire Catalan government administration); Santa Madrona, which houses administrative services and cultural facilities; the Bonanova node, which houses the control infrastructure for the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat (FGC) network; and the Cerdanyola point, where data processing centers used by the Catalan government are located. With all this, the goal is for the Barcelona Quantum Ring to be ready in 2029.

The European Union has taken action on the topic of quantum computing because it does not want to end up depending on the US and China in this area as well, even if only because of the security risks to communications that this would entail. For now, the priority objective is to develop software that works on future quantum computers and on applications that should be completely secure thanks to this technology. Several European research centers—public and private—, companies, telecommunications operators, and start-ups, including some here, are collaborating to avoid being left behind in this field—or even to lead it—now considered strategic in the global geopolitical environment.

The Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) will build and coordinate the first quantum computing network of the State, a science that would allow to understand complex chemical reactions to give rise to new drugs, improve industrial batteries or optimise artificial intelligence algorithms for the world of finance, logistics or security. These are just some examples of the benefits that could be obtained from the production and use of quantum computing, a discipline little explored in Spain but strategic to manage phenomena that happen at a microscopic level and make multiple operations with a great impact on the resolution of real problems, especially in the industrial sectors.