Purdue University, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Toshiba, has successfully demonstrated quantum secure communications in a live nuclear reactor environment. The trial, conducted at Purdue University Reactor Number One (PUR-1), utilized Toshiba’s Long Distance Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) technology to secure digital data streams within the reactor, marking a milestone in quantum cybersecurity integration for nuclear energy systems.
The three-year project, funded by the DOE’s Nuclear Energy University Program, focused on validating QKD’s suitability for safeguarding microreactor communications. QKD uses quantum mechanical principles—specifically, the no-cloning theorem and measurement disturbance—to distribute encryption keys in a manner that ensures detection of any interception. The demonstration showed how QKD can be used to secure PUR-1’s fully digital instrumentation and control systems, which replace traditional analog interfaces with ethernet-based communications. PUR-1 is the only U.S. nuclear reactor licensed with a fully digital architecture, making it a uniquely suitable testbed for next-generation cybersecurity applications.
QKD offers resilience against threats from both classical and future quantum computers by eliminating reliance on the mathematical complexity that underpins traditional encryption. This demonstration provides a validated path for integrating quantum communication protocols into advanced reactor designs, particularly microreactors intended for remote or autonomous operation. The results support ongoing efforts to enhance the cybersecurity and resilience of critical infrastructure against evolving digital threats.
Read the official announcement here and full research paper here.
June 3, 2025
