At the recent TNC25, Europe’s landmark research and education networking conference held in Brighton, UK, GRNET, operating under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Digital Governance, was prominently represented. As Greece’s National Research and Education Network (NREN), GRNET, plays a key role in providing key infrastructures and services as well as shaping the country’s digital transformation.  Within its role it  coordinates the HellasQCI project—Greece’s National Quantum Communication Infrastructure and part of the broader EuroQCI initiative. Dr. Ilias Papastamatiou, Senior Project Manager at GRNET and HellasQCI Coordinator, chaired the high-level session “Building the Quantum Future: NRENs at the Forefront. The session examined the critical role of NRENs in shaping Europe’s quantum future—by enabling secure, scalable, and interoperable quantum communication systems.

During the session emphasis was given on how NRENs are not only embracing the quantum era but actively shaping it — building testbeds, validating new technologies, and aligning national strategies with the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI).

Besides the generally acknowledged need to ensure alignment between national initiatives like HellasQCI and the broader European quantum strategy, the session outputs highlighted:

• The critical role of NRENs in delivering secure, scalable, and interoperable quantum communication systems.
• The importance of cross-border collaboration to ensure compatibility.
• The shift from theoretical R&D to real-world implementation and user engagement.

For GRNET and HellasQCI, this was an opportunity to showcase Greece’s leadership in deploying quantum-secure infrastructure and engage with Europe’s digital research ecosystem, with the end goal of bringing quantum communication technology closer to real-world users.

GRNET’s and HellasQCI’s participation at TNC25 reinforced Greece’s role in the European quantum ecosystem. The project gained visibility as a contributor to Europe’s quantum agenda. Overall, discussions during the event with European NRENs enabled knowledge exchange and laid the groundwork for future collaboration and scaling efforts, while ensuring HellasQCI is deployed in alignment with evolving quantum standards and interoperability requirements.

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Stay tuned as GRNET via HellasQCI Project continues building a quantum-secure future for Greece and Europe.