Giesecke+Devrient Joins European uPQComing Consortium to Develop Quantum-Safe eID Operating Systems

Munich-based security technology group Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) has joined uPQComing (Enhancing Cyber-Resilience for the Upcoming Post-Quantum Era), a European research consortium co-funded by the European Union's Chips Joint Undertaking (Chips JU). The project focuses on migrating critical public digital infrastructure and resource-constrained embedded secure elements—specifically smart card integrated circuits and electronic identity (eID) operating systems—to Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC).

Embedded PQC Optimization for Java Card Secure Elements

Integrating lattice-based post-quantum algorithms into smart card microcontrollers introduces severe performance bottlenecks due to larger key sizes, increased memory consumption, and higher computational overhead compared to classical RSA and ECC. Within uPQComing, G+D is engineering specialized implementation pathways for resource-constrained silicon:

• Java Card OS Prototyping: Integrating PQC primitives into a native Java Card chip operating system, optimizing instruction execution, RAM usage, and non-volatile memory footprints to maintain rapid authentication times at verification terminals.

• Crypto-Agile Architecture: Designing flexible firmware layers that allow secure elements to update, swap, or patch cryptographic primitives over time as algorithmic standards and side-channel vulnerability profiles evolve.

• Hybrid Key Exchange and Authentication: Implementing dual-mode cryptographic schemes that combine classical public-key algorithms with PQC mechanisms to ensure backward compatibility and continuous compliance during the multi-year migration phase.

Strategic Alignment with German and European eID Roadmaps

The uPQComing participation expands upon G+D's feasibility study and proof-of-concept conducted with Germany’s Bundesdruckerei, which validated the practical execution of PQC on the German national ID card. By scaling these prototypes across the uPQComing consortium, G+D aims to establish standardized, quantum-resistant digital identity architectures across European Union member states.

Review the official release via Giesecke+Devrient here.

September 3, 2026