While artificial intelligence continues to dominate headlines, a quieter revolution is unfolding—one that could redefine the very fabric of secure digital communication. 

At the heart of this shift is quantum technology, where bits give way to qubits, and encryption is no longer just mathematical but physical. Amid this transformation, the UAE is emerging as a serious contender in the global quantum race.

Amid this transformation, the UAE is emerging as a serious contender in the global quantum race. And leading the charge in quantum communications is Dr. James Grieve—an experimental physicist with a vision to make unbreakable encryption not just a theory, but a working part of our digital infrastructure.

Dr. James Grieve is the Senior Director of Quantum Communications at the Technology Innovation Institute (TII) in Abu Dhabi, a leading applied research organization pushing the boundaries of quantum technology. 

With a PhD from the University of Bristol and extensive expertise in experimental quantum optics, he oversees TII’s efforts to develop practical, near-term quantum solutions. 

On March 21, Dr. Grieve spoke at the Quantum Innovation Summit at the H Hotel in Dubai, where he shared insights into the transformative potential of quantum communications, emphasizing its role in secure key distribution and its trajectory toward real-world adoption.

Quantum computing often dominates the spotlight, but you’ve mentioned sensing and communications as key pillars too. Can you explain what quantum communications entails at TII?

At TII, we focus on three quantum pillars: computing, sensing, and communications. Quantum imaging often falls under sensing, but communications is where we’re making significant strides—especially in security. 

As an applied research institute, we prioritize near-term, practical outcomes. Right now, that means quantum key distribution (QKD). Unlike conventional networks that handle data transfer, QKD uses quantum principles to generate and distribute encryption keys securely. It’s not about transmitting information directly but ensuring the keys used for encryption are private and untouchable.

Why bring quantum into key distribution? What’s the advantage over classical methods?

Encryption keys are like physical keys—they lock and unlock data. In classical systems, keys are often exchanged using public key methods, like Diffie-Hellman, relying on mathematical complexity—say, the difficulty of computing discrete logarithms. 

These methods work because attackers can’t solve them efficiently with current computers. But in the 1990s, Peter Shor showed that a large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer could break these systems using his algorithm. 

That’s a known threat, and people are working hard to build such machines. QKD shifts the security from computational assumptions to physics. We use single particles of light—photons—sometimes entangled, to distribute keys. If an eavesdropper interferes, the laws of physics expose them. It’s security backed by nature, not just math.

How does QKD work in practice?

Imagine you and I need a shared secret key, but we’re far apart and can only use a classical channel. Classically, we’d rely on algorithms, but QKD uses quantum particles. 

At TII, we work with discrete variable systems, often leveraging entangled photons. We generate these entangled particles, send them to two parties, and they measure them to build a key. 

The entanglement acts like a distributed random number generator. Because quantum states can’t be copied—thanks to the no-cloning theorem—we can prove the key’s privacy. Any eavesdropping disrupts the system, alerting us. Real-world systems, though, need careful engineering to match the theoretical security, and that’s what our team tackles.

How close are we to quantum keys becoming mainstream, like end-to-end encryption in WhatsApp?

Most people don’t know how their data is encrypted—WhatsApp’s padlock or a website’s HTTPS just works invisibly, and that’s how good security should be. 

QKD won’t be flashy like AI; it’s infrastructure. Early adopters—finance, healthcare, government—are testing it now. For example, BT runs a commercial QKD network in London for clients like HSBC, and SK Telecom has deployed it in South Korea. 

These are small-scale integrations, proving the tech works without performance hits. Telecom is the next frontier, but it’s years away from being universal. Unlike AI’s rapid consumer adoption, QKD needs physical connectivity—fiber or satellites—which slows penetration into devices like smartphones. It’s more about strengthening network backbones for now.

You recently announced a partnership with the UAE Space Agency for “unhackable” communications. Is it truly unhackable, and where’s that project now?

“Unhackable” applies to the theoretical QKD protocol—it’s provably secure because of quantum physics. Real systems, though, have engineering gaps, like side-channel attacks from imperfect components. No production system has been hacked, but we’re hardening against those risks through certification efforts. 

Our UAE Space Agency partnership extends QKD to space. Fiber-based QKD maxes out at a few hundred kilometers due to photon loss, so we use satellites for long-range links. We’ve built a ground station in Abu Dhabi to connect to upcoming quantum satellites. Phase two, recently announced, links this station to our fiber network, enabling secure key relay across borders—say, from Abu Dhabi to Paris—via satellite. It’s a practical step toward global quantum networks.