On February 26, 2026, IonQ announced the successful deployment of the Romanian National Quantum Communication Infrastructure (RoNaQCI), one of the largest operational quantum key distribution (QKD) networks in Europe. According to the company’s announcement, the network includes 36 quantum-secured links spanning more than 1,500 kilometers, accounting for more than 20 percent of Europe’s terrestrial quantum communications infrastructure.
RoNaQCI connects six major metropolitan areas: Bucharest, Iași, Timișoara, Craiova, Cluj-Napoca, and Constanța. All QKD systems were supplied by ID Quantique, an IonQ subsidiary. The project was delivered in partnership with the National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest and RoEduNet, Romania’s national research and education network. A consortium of 12 Romanian universities, seven research institutes, three national agencies, and additional stakeholders participated.
The project was co-funded by the EU and the Romanian state with a budget of €10 million, according to reporting by BriefGlance. It forms part of the EuroQCI initiative, which is building a quantum communication infrastructure across the European Union. Prof. Pantelimon George Popescu, head of the Quantum Computing Laboratory at POLITEHNICA Bucharest, described the network as “a practical foundation for secure data exchange across Romania.”