Purdue finds 95km limit for fast quantum reactor control

The work, demonstrated on the university’s 10-kWth PUR-1 research reactor, establishes verified bounds for integrating quantum cybersecurity into functioning industrial architectures. The team’s model reveals a trade-off between distance and responsiveness; achieving secure key exchange at 120 kilometers with a 20 Hz sampling rate requires a minimum of 24 minutes of lead time. These results provide a foundation for designing quantum-resilient communication frameworks for safety-critical systems like advanced reactors and microgrids. A microreactor plant operating at just 2 MWe could supply the daily electrical and space heating needs of 2000 households and could produce process heat (675 °C) for seawater desalination, hydrogen production, fracking, heavy crude oil cracking, and many other applications. While these architectures would offer numerous advantages, they could be vulnerable to cyber attacks. Purdue University’s 10-kWth PUR-1 research reactor served as the proving ground for a newly validated model linking quantum key distribution to the demands of real-time…