Trends, key actors and use cases in QKD technologies: an analysis of the research and innovation frontier using web-based methods

Abstract

This work is part of the activities of the PON project “Development of quantum systems and technologies for IT security in communication networks” (QUANCOM) which aims to the realization of a metropolitan quantum communication network through the collaboration between universities, research centers and companies operating in the communication market area.The paper presents an analysis of the research and innovation frontier related to Quantum Technologies and conducted through web-based methods and techniques, which allow the acquisition of high granularity information also from unconventional sources. The work aims to trace the strategic positioning of the QUANCOM project with reference to the evolution of the state of the art in order to: i) enucleate the most promising lines of research; ii) outline emerging market trends; iii) provide evidence on the innovativeness of existing technologies; iv) identify use cases and opportunities for industrial exploitation of the project results.Structured and unstructured information sources are used. The former is represented by national and international databases concerning: i) European research projects, ii) scientific publications and research reports, iii) patents, iii) market and investment trends. The second ones refer to websites of research centers, companies, innovation facilitators.The methodology involved performing 3 steps of analysis that led to specific results:1.through the analysis of the research frontier, 69 H2020 projects on Quantum Technologies were identified.2.the reconnaissance of the technology frontier led to the identification of a highly specific panel of 731 patents divided into 4 sub-areas focused on: i) QKD equipments; ii) terrestrial and satellite QKD networks; iii) layer 3 cryptography; iv) security technologies in Distributed Ledger applications.3.the reconstruction of the innovation ecosystem conducted through the web content mining approach, led, from a panel of more than 18,000 actors, to the identification of 142 public and private stakeholder that carry out research and innovation activities on the reference domain or commercially enhance solutions based on quantum technologies.