Vanesa Diaz, a Senior Telecommunications Engineer with more than two decades of international experience in the sector, leads as CEO LuxQuanta , a spin-off of the Institute of Photonic Sciences ( ICFO ), a pioneer in quantum communications based in Castelldefels. After a career that has taken her from technical roles to market development and strategic management, Diaz today combines her technological passion and communication skills to position LuxQuanta as a key player in protecting digital communications against the emerging threat of quantum computers.
LuxQuanta is currently focused on the development of a so-called “Quantum Key Distribution” ( QKD ), which uses photons to establish super-secure cryptographic keys between two points. These keys are used to encrypt messages and guarantee the privacy of information transmitted over telecommunications networks. The company was recently awarded the Salvà i Campillo Entrepreneurship Award at the 30th edition of La Nit de les Telecommunications i la Informatica , for its pioneering work in quantum cryptography. The event, held on April 2, is one of the most prestigious in the digital and telecommunications sector in Catalonia. Since launching production in 2023, LuxQuanta has grown rapidly, securing contracts with major telecommunications operators and generating millions of euros in revenue. This award recognizes LuxQuanta’s role in positioning Catalonia at the forefront of quantum security communications in Europe.
LuxQuanta is currently driving its R&D&I capacity through two active industrial PhD projects, developed in close collaboration with ICFO and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC). The first project addresses one of the main challenges of QKD: long-distance quantum key distribution . The aim is to research and develop systems (both discrete and continuous variable) capable of overcoming current limits, with the goal of establishing secure quantum communications over 150 km, which would facilitate their deployment in larger real telecommunications networks. The second project focuses on photonic integration for CV-QKD (continuous variable) systems on a chip. This line of research seeks to miniaturize and optimize the key components of CV-QKD technology in photonic integrated circuits (PICs), an essential step to improve scalability, robustness and reduce production costs, thus facilitating the future standardization and mass adoption of this quantum security technology.
In this interview, Vanesa Diaz analyzes how strategic collaboration with the academic world, and specifically participation in the Industrial Doctorate Plan of the Generalitat de Catalunya, is essential to accelerate innovation and attract highly specialized talent, crucial factors to remain at the forefront in the competitive field of quantum technology and achieve global leadership.
– Vanesa, what is LuxQuanta and what is your mission in the quantum field?
– We are a spin-off founded in 2021 from the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO), located in Castelldefels. Our company works in the optical communications sector, securing all global digital communications using quantum cryptography.
– What strategic value do Industrial Doctorates bring to LuxQuanta?
– The field of quantum communications presents a significant technological challenge for a company like ours, especially due to the difficulty of finding professionals specialized in specific areas such as optical hardware, electronics and software programming. Having the opportunity to incorporate these professionals, ready to work immediately in quantum communications, is a considerable advantage. It allows us to stay at the technological forefront and fill these complicated positions much more quickly than without this type of collaboration.
– What practical results have your industrial doctoral students already generated?
– We have been lucky enough to bring on two employees, Pol and Eli, who are currently doing their industrial doctorates, each specializing in a specific area of knowledge. Pol has been with us for two years working with technology that we already commercialize and sell both in Europe and the rest of the world, optimizing the hardware. Eli, who has been with us for a year, works on the next generation of technology, in which all the optical components are concentrated on a photonic chip. Both of them bring a very powerful capacity: highly prepared professionals who can delve into specific topics with the technical support of the senior team, thus helping us achieve our research and development goals with great quality and speed.
“Having the opportunity to incorporate these professionals [industrial PhD students], ready to work immediately in quantum communications, is a considerable advantage.”
– How is the research of these doctoral students translated into products or applications for LuxQuanta?
– Their contribution directly feeds the products we are currently marketing and those we will sell over the next year. LuxQuanta is a highly technological company in the quantum technologies and quantum communication sector. We sell products that protect cryptography through the laws of quantum physics. The contribution of these industrial doctoral students consists of optimizing current products and working on the next technological generation, which will allow us to consolidate ourselves as global leaders, placing us among the three or five main companies in the sector.
– What are the keys to success in business-university collaboration within an Industrial Doctorate?
– I believe that proximity and continuous communication are essential. As a spin-off of ICFO, we maintain a constant dialogue with the research center, which knows our history well because it helped us to be born with a specific objective: to protect digital communications with technology based on quantum physics. On the other hand, we also know its lines of technological development. One of our co-founders continues to work at ICFO, thus encouraging positive feedback and facilitating the identification of suitable professional profiles for our company. We also apply this close communication with the UPC.
– As a spin-off of ICFO, what specific advantages does this link with the research center bring you?
– The benefits are multiple, especially strategic. These research centers are always at the technological forefront and very connected to the European research ecosystem. This provides us with references to solve technological and commercial issues, and gives us visibility when we are a small startup that is just starting out. Having the support of a research center greatly facilitates access to academic, political and industrial networks, significantly accelerating our growth. In addition, it allows us to attract quality talent already recommended by these centers, essential in a sector like quantum technologies, where there is a notable shortage of professionals.
"The contribution of these industrial doctoral students will allow us to consolidate ourselves as global leaders, placing us among the three or five main companies in the sector."
– And for the research center, what return does promoting a spin-off like LuxQuanta have?
– Research centers develop and incubate technologies for several years. Key people involved in this process often become co-founders of the spin-offs, thus maintaining a presence of the center among the company's shareholders. As the spin-off grows, it brings reputation to the original research center. The final benefit for the center is that this initial investment translates into a return that ultimately benefits the public, since many of these centers are public.
– Why would you recommend doing an industrial doctorate?
– One of the tasks we take very seriously is attracting talent. We constantly support ICFO and other Catalan and Spanish universities so that students know that we exist and consider us when they are ready to make the leap into the professional world. Many students hesitate whether to fully immerse themselves in the academic world for another four years or to seek direct professional experience. The industrial doctorate is an excellent option because it offers the best of both worlds: the possibility of technically deepening in a field that you like and, at the same time, acquiring professional experience in a company. This combination opens many doors and, for this reason, I highly recommend it to interested students.
