OLEDCOMM, A Leading LiFi Company, Showcased LiFi Defense Applications at European Defense Week 2025
Image credit to Oledcomm
French optical communications company demonstrates secure, interference-free technology to European defense stakeholders in Paris
OLEDCOMM participated in the European Defense Week 2025, a flagship event organized by Bpifrance that convened key innovators, defense stakeholders, and institutions from across Europe. The five-day gathering in Paris provided a strategic platform for the company to present its LiFi-based optical communication technologies to the European defense and dual-use ecosystem.
Pitching Secure Communications to Defense Experts
The OLEDCOMM team presented its LiFi-based optical communication technologies to a jury of experts, demonstrating how secure, high-speed, and interference-free communication can strengthen European defense capabilities. Unlike traditional radio-frequency communications, LiFi technology uses light waves to transmit data, offering inherent advantages in security and resistance to electromagnetic interference, critical considerations for military and defense applications.
The pitch highlighted how optical wireless communications address several persistent challenges in defense scenarios: the technology operates without adding to spectrum congestion, provides physical containment of signals that enhances security against interception, and functions reliably in environments where radio-frequency communications may be jammed or restricted.
Navigating Defense Procurement Complexities
Beyond the technical presentation, OLEDCOMM participated in a panel discussion titled "How to contract with MODs and Armies," sharing insights gained from operating as an innovative SME at the intersection of technology, defense, and sovereignty. The session addressed the unique challenges that emerging technology companies face when seeking to work with Ministries of Defense and military organizations across Europe.
Defense procurement processes differ significantly from commercial contracting, involving complex requirements around security clearances, long qualification cycles, stringent testing protocols, and sovereignty considerations. For innovative SMEs like OLEDCOMM, understanding these processes while maintaining the agility that drives innovation represents a delicate balance. The panel discussion provided valuable perspectives for both technology providers seeking defense contracts and defense organizations looking to incorporate innovative solutions more efficiently.
European Defense Week: A Catalyst for Collaboration
European Defense Week serves as a cornerstone event for fostering innovation within Europe's defense and dual-use ecosystem. Organized by Bpifrance in collaboration with EUDIS Matchmaking, the event brings together startups, investors, corporate partners, defense officials, and EU institutions for five days of intensive engagement.
The program features high-level panels examining strategic defense priorities, targeted matchmaking sessions connecting technology providers with potential partners and customers, startup pitching opportunities before expert juries, and networking events designed to facilitate cross-border and cross-sector collaboration. This comprehensive approach aims to accelerate the integration of innovative technologies into European defense capabilities while strengthening the continent's technological sovereignty.
LiFi Technology in Defense Contexts
The defense sector's interest in LiFi technology reflects growing recognition of optical wireless communications' potential military applications. In tactical situations where electromagnetic spectrum management is critical, LiFi offers an alternative communication channel that doesn't compete for limited RF bandwidth. The technology's inherent security characteristics, light signals don't penetrate walls and can be precisely directed, make it difficult for adversaries to intercept communications without physical access to the light beam.
Additionally, LiFi systems operate reliably in environments with high levels of electromagnetic interference, whether from natural sources, dense concentrations of electronic equipment, or deliberate jamming efforts. For military operations, this resilience translates into more reliable communications in contested or complex electromagnetic environments.
Building Europe's Defense Innovation Ecosystem
OLEDCOMM's participation in European Defense Week exemplifies the broader effort to strengthen connections between Europe's innovative technology sector and its defense establishment. As geopolitical pressures increase focus on European defense capabilities and technological sovereignty, events like European Defense Week play a crucial role in identifying promising technologies, facilitating relationships between innovators and defense organizations, and accelerating the path from concept to deployment.
For SMEs working on dual-use technologies, innovations with both civilian and defense applications, these connections are particularly valuable. The defense sector often has stringent requirements that drive technology development in directions that ultimately benefit civilian applications as well, creating a virtuous cycle of innovation.
Fostering Cross-Border Defense Innovation
The European dimension of Defense Week addresses a strategic imperative: building defense capabilities that transcend national boundaries while respecting sovereignty concerns. Optical communications technologies like those developed by OLEDCOMM have the potential to serve multiple European defense forces, creating economies of scale that make advanced capabilities more accessible while fostering interoperability between allied nations.
The event's emphasis on cross-border collaboration recognizes that Europe's defense technological base benefits from the diverse expertise distributed across the continent. French companies like OLEDCOMM bring particular strengths in photonics and optical technologies, complementing capabilities in other European nations to create a more comprehensive defense innovation ecosystem.
Advancing European Technological Sovereignty
OLEDCOMM's presence at European Defense Week, along with numerous other European technology companies, underscores the continent's commitment to developing indigenous defense capabilities. Technological sovereignty, the ability to develop, produce, and maintain critical technologies without dependence on external suppliers, has become a strategic priority for European defense planning.
LiFi technology represents exactly the kind of advanced capability that supports this objective: a cutting-edge communications technology developed and manufactured in Europe, with applications spanning both civilian and defense contexts. As European nations invest in strengthening their defense industrial base, companies like OLEDCOMM that can provide innovative, domestically-developed solutions are positioned to play increasingly important roles.
The convergence of stakeholders at European Defense Week, from innovative SMEs to defense officials, investors to EU institutions, demonstrates Europe's commitment to building a robust, collaborative defense innovation ecosystem capable of meeting 21st-century security challenges while maintaining technological leadership in critical domains.
