Partners page

University of Cyprus, Cyprus

The University of Cyprus (UCY) participates through the KIOS Research and Innovation Center of Excellence and the IRIDA Research Centre for Communication Technologies. KIOS is the largest ICT research center in Cyprus, focusing on intelligent monitoring, control, security, and management of critical infrastructure systems, while IRIDA specializes in wireless communications, RIS‑aided techniques, and physical layer security. Collectively, these centers employ over 200 highly qualified personnel and have secured more than 75 EU and national research projects, including ERC grants. UCY coordinates FOCAL and leads its scientific, technical, administrative, financial, and communication activities. It leads WP1 and WP2 and steers developments in PHY security, RIS‑enabled PQC, E2E network instrumentation, and POC use case analysis and composition.

CERTH, Greece

CERTH is a leading European research institute in information and communication technologies, with strong academic and industrial links. Within FOCAL, CERTH contributes to dissemination and impact through a multi scale strategy targeting academia, research organizations, and industry. Its extensive industrial network supports effective transfer of research outcomes into practice. CERTH leads WP4 and the next generation networks proof of concept, while contributing to interoperability aspects and PQC oriented communication schemes in WP2 and WP3. Through its experience in large scale European projects, CERTH ensures strong alignment between technical innovation, experimental validation, and stakeholder engagement, supporting the visibility and adoption of FOCAL results across research and industrial communities.

CSEM, Switzerland

Founded in 1984, CSEM is a private, non profit research and technology organization specializing in precision manufacturing, digitalization, and sustainable energy. Its technological expertise spans microtechnology, nanotechnology, microelectronics, systems engineering, AI, photovoltaics, and communications. CSEM is an experienced partner and former coordinator of multiple EU funded projects, with an annual turnover of 105 M€ in 2023. In FOCAL, CSEM steers directions related to hardware adaptation and crypto agility within WP2. It also contributes to accelerated learning approaches in WP3 and supports the definition and validation of proof of concept use cases in WP4, ensuring practical and scalable integration of post quantum security technologies into future systems.

Cyberecocul Global Services, Cyprus

Cyberecocul Global Services LTD (CEC) is a newly established cybersecurity startup active in research, development, and innovation. Its activities span cyber, space, quantum, defense, and hybrid and critical infrastructure protection domains, including Data and AI Operations services currently delivered to several organizations. Within FOCAL, CEC plays a key role in WP5, contributing to the definition of strategies and metrics for measuring post‑quantum cryptography (PQC) transition in alignment with EU legislation, regulations, policies, and standards. CEC additionally participates in two proof‑of‑concepts in WP4, ensuring that regulatory, compliance, and operational perspectives are embedded into the technical developments and evaluation of the FOCAL framework.

Cyprus Organization for Standardization, Cyprus

The Cyprus Organization for Standardization (CYS) is the National Standardization Body of Cyprus, operating since January 2005 under Law 156(I)/2002, with the Republic of Cyprus as its sole shareholder. CYS is responsible for all national standardization activities and represents Cyprus in European and international standardization bodies. In the FOCAL project, CYS leads guidance on policies, regulations, and standards within WP5. It contributes to shaping the FOCAL strategy for defining metrics supporting the transition to post‑quantum cryptography in the modern Internet ecosystem, ensuring alignment with existing and emerging European regulatory and standardization frameworks.

Hellas Sat, Greece

Hellas Sat is a leading satellite operator providing services across Europe, the Middle East, and South Africa. Established in 2001, it owns and operates a fleet of three geostationary satellites. Through initiatives such as the Broadband Mediterranean Development (BB‑MED) ESA project, Hellas Sat supports broadband connectivity in underserved regions of the EU and 16 countries around the south and east Mediterranean region. Within FOCAL, HELLASAT will lead the activities within the space communications POC in WP4 and also provide system and communications-oriented requirements and equipment to improve the PHY security and PLS in WP2. Moreover, it will provide input for standardization activities in WP5.

imec, Belgium

IMEC is a non‑profit research institute for nano‑electronics, chips, and software solutions, mainly located in Flanders, Belgium. IDLab is a Ghent University research group embedded within IMEC, consisting of more than 400 researchers working on connectivity, AI, and data. Within IDLab, the DISCOVER subgroup, led by Prof. Bruno Volckaert, focuses on reliable, secure, and scalable distributed software system solutions. In FOCAL, IMEC will contribute expertise in cloud‑edge orchestration, service and network security, and edge device attestation, as well as a presence in WASI workgroups and standardization bodies. IMEC will design algorithms for end‑to‑end resource management over an NFV orchestration framework interfacing with programmable dataplane technologies in WP2. It will also work on interoperable applications in WP3 and participate across all proof‑of‑concepts in WP4.

KPMG, Cyprus

KPMG is a global professional services organization specializing in technology solutions for compliance, risk management, and cybersecurity across diverse industries. In FOCAL, KPMG contributes its technical, legal, and regulatory expertise to develop robust policy frameworks and metrics supporting an effective transition to post quantum cryptography. Its global network, spanning 143 countries and over 270,000 professionals, enables broad dissemination and amplification of FOCAL outcomes. KPMG leads the exploitation strategy in WP6 and provides significant contributions across WP5 tasks, ensuring alignment with regulatory expectations and market adoption pathways. Through its multidisciplinary perspective, KPMG strengthens the relevance, sustainability, and long term impact of the project results.

NVIDIA, Israel

NVIDIA is a global leader in accelerated computing and datacenter networking, developing integrated hardware, firmware, and software solutions. Through NVIDIA Mellanox and its Advanced Research and CyberLab teams, NVIDIA contributes deep expertise in secure, high‑performance networking. In FOCAL, NVIDIA supports the integration of post‑quantum cryptography technologies into secure datacenter environments, shaping research towards an end‑to‑end platform. NVIDIA participates in all work packages, focusing on network instrumentation and crypto‑agility mechanisms in WP2, and learning and interoperability schemes in WP3. It leads the datacenter proof‑of‑concept in WP4 and contributes to standardization, dissemination, and exploitation activities in WP5 and WP6.

NXP, Germany

NXP Semiconductors Germany GmbH (NXP‑DE), part of NXP Semiconductors N.V., develops solutions for secure connections. NXP builds on more than 60 years of experience, with approximately 34,000 employees, including 12,000 researchers, 9,500 patent families, and a revenue of 12 B€ in 2023. Within FOCAL, NXP will address secure communications via post‑quantum cryptography in healthcare scenarios, based on the technologies developed and demonstrated in the project. NXP will work on edge computation and learning within WP3, framework integration in WP3, and the definition of the medical technology proof‑of‑concept in WP4. In addition, NXP will contribute significantly to standardization activities within WP5.

SEMI Europe, Germany

SEMI Europe represents over 3,500 member organizations worldwide across the electronics design and manufacturing value chain. Through global partnerships, SEMI drives innovation in materials, equipment, devices, and services supporting advanced and secure electronics. In FOCAL, SEMI supports the transition of the electronics supply chain toward quantum resistant technologies by equipping industry stakeholders to address emerging cybersecurity challenges. SEMI leads WP6, overseeing dissemination and communication activities to maximize the impact of FOCAL outcomes among relevant stakeholders. Additionally, SEMI contributes to standardization and policy discussions in WP5.

SpinEdge, Israel

Spinedge is a startup company developing disruptive spintronic analog AI accelerator technology for both edge and server platforms, supporting inference and training. This technology significantly elevates AI computing by improving energy efficiency and minimizing latency, while providing innovative data security protection through the intrinsic anisotropy of spintronic cells. The team is composed of experts in spintronics, AI, microelectronics, and hi‑tech entrepreneurship. Spinedge possesses a set of modeling tools for designing and benchmarking neuromorphic spintronic systems. Within FOCAL, Spinedge will be involved in composing hardware‑assisted signatures using Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) and will act as a core contributor to the hybrid key generation and management methodology developed in WP2. It will also contribute to requirements definition, assessment activities across WP3–WP5, and dissemination in WP6.

Valeo, France and Germany

Valeo is a leading automotive Tier 1 supplier with strong positions in driving assistance, interior systems, and connected vehicle technologies. Cybersecurity is critical for automotive systems, as regulatory compliance is mandatory for vehicle type approval. With vehicles deployed today remaining operational well into the 2030s, the transition to post quantum cryptography is essential. In FOCAL, Valeo focuses on developing automotive grade PQC solutions ensuring seamless migration from classical cryptography. Valeo leads the automotive proof of concept in WP4 and contributes to defining enhanced PQC frameworks in WP2 and deployment strategies in WP3, safeguarding the long term security and competitiveness of its automotive communication platforms.

University of Lübeck, Germany

The University of Lübeck (UzL) is a small and agile research university with strong profiles in computer science, life sciences, and medicine, where cutting‑edge research and technology transfer are closely integrated. In the FOCAL project, UzL is represented by the Institute of Computer Engineering (UzL‑ITI) and the Institute for IT Security (UzL‑ITS), which both contribute their respective areas of expertise to the project objectives. UzL‑ITI focuses on the architecture of hardware and software systems, as well as their prototypical implementation and evaluation. Activities in FOCAL align with recent studies on improving security for commercial trusted execution environments and on the secure transition and deployment of post‑quantum cryptosystems, as addressed in projects such as PQC4Med and Sec4IoMT. UzL will lead WP3 and contribute to hardware/software design, machine learning, and post‑quantum cryptography activities in WP2, TEE‑related work in WP3, and the definition of validation scenarios across all proof‑of‑concepts in WP5. Research results will be disseminated through scientific publications.