Cailabs’ laser communication technologies identified as strategic by the European Innovation Council (EIC)
Cailabs, a French deeptech company with a world leadership in optical beam shaping, announces that it has been awarded the EIC Accelerator, the European funding for SMEs. Cailabs will thus accelerate the development and industrialization of its high data-rate laser communication solutions.
Rennes, France – CROCUS (Coherent Rapid Optical Communication Under the Stratosphere) is the name of the project led by Cailabs, winner of the EIC Accelerator. This €8.5 million funding will enable the company to consolidate and industrialize its range of laser communication products.
Satellite, naval or airborne communications today rely on radio frequencies. These are adapted for broadcasts to individuals, but are also limited in data-rate and number of available frequencies, and can easily be intercepted. Laser communications allow unlicensed, discrete links, at almost unlimited rates and tend to impose themselves in satellite networks.
“It is Cailabs’ role to offer turnkey laser communications systems thanks to our unique turbulence compensation technology, which is essential for ultra broadband links,” explains Olivier Jacques-Sermet, Business Development Manager for laser communications at Cailabs. “Cailabs is building its first optical ground station in Rennes, France via the Keraunos project supported by the French Ministry of Defense to operate a world first optical link with a nanosatellite. CROCUS will enable us to significantly accelerate our industrialization and deployment capabilities for operators and system integrators, and give them access to satellite links at speeds that were previously unreachable.”
In addition to the acceleration capacity provided by the EIC Accelerator, this choice validates the technical and economic interest of free-space optical networks. As announced by European Commissioner Thierry Breton in early 2022, the European Union is seeking to consolidate its sovereign telecommunication networks, particularly satellite networks. The choice of the CROCUS project is part of this dynamic and confirms the need of European public authorities to have very high data-rate and secure optical links that will form the core of future satellite networks.
Initiated by the European Innovation Council via EISMEA, the EIC Accelerator is a particularly selective funding (74 winning companies out of 1,093 applicants), which supports strategic European SMEs in their industrialization and market access. “The EIC Accelerator is a great tool of the European Union that allows SMEs to reach new dimensions” says Jean-François Morizur, CEO of Cailabs. “This funding allows us to accelerate our ambitions by positioning Cailabs as one of the European leaders of optical ground stations.”