In a visit to Copenhagen on Friday (29 September 2023), NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called for the development of a transatlantic quantum community, harnessing the power of this critical technology for our security. In a joint statement with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, the two leaders underscored the importance of closer collaboration among public, private and academic sectors, and the acceleration of responsible innovation.
Speaking alongside Prime Minister Frederiksen at the Copenhagen Quantum Conference 2023, Mr Stoltenberg said: “NATO has always adapted to and adopted new technologies to keep our people safe”. He added: “with the rapid spread of disruptive technologies, we must adapt further and faster than ever before, including in the field of quantum…. We need to make sure these technologies work for us – not against us.” He further praised Denmark for being “a driving force behind NATO’s innovation agenda, and a leader in the field on quantum technologies in Europe.
The Secretary General confirmed that NATO will have developed a quantum strategy by the end of this year, to ensure the Alliance is “quantum-ready” and “able to integrate the right technologies into our capabilities and protect against adversarial use.”
Later in the day, the Secretary General opened the new NATO accelerator site “Deep Tech Lab – Quantum” together with the Danish Minister of Defence, Troels Lund Poulsen; the Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs, Morten Bødskov; and the Minister of Higher Education and Science, Christina Egelund. The Lab will help start-ups from across the Alliance commercialise quantum-enabled solutions, as part of NATO’s new Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA).
DIANA consists of a network of test centers and accelerator sites across NATO countries, where innovators develop new technologies to solve pressing security challenges. The Deep Tech Lab – Quantum in Copenhagen is one of five pilot accelerator sites launched in 2023.
