‘The separation of capabilities’: Kontron Solar on its start at Intersolar 2024, and cybersecurity challenges for solar

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“It’s indulge in computing in the 80s; every so regularly the cyber web came about and, with a time lapse, that’s what’s taking place here,” Dr Johannes Fues, head of inexperienced tech at Kontron Solar, told PV Tech this morning, in regards to the growing availability of files and interconnection in the PV sector. “Right here is an residence the put we predict about this reference to Kontron goes to raise us a substantial jump forward.”

“It’s at the level the put, for the first time, devices are linked,” he persevered, noting how connectivity has changed in the solar sector. “You growth into that fresh arena, and will possess to you stir period by period, the inverters are linked [then] the wall boxes are linked.”

Fues described the collaboration with Kontron, and the start of Kontron Solar, as a “conceptual magnificence,” whereas Dr Peter Grabs, director of innovation and research and pattern at Kontron Solar, said that the fresh firm would greater be in a put to separate the need for users to entry data, and the need for antagonistic actors to be denied entry.

“It’s in regards to the separation of capabilities,” said Grabs. “There might perhaps be a bodily separation from the client fair, so we are able to consistently explore if it’s a honest set a matter to. [We’re trying to provide] data security, inverter security, [and at the] closing stage the grid security and security.”

Earlier this 365 days, PVcase’s David Trainavicius told PV Tech Top rate that the solar sector faces a “data wretchedness,” on the world of a growing abundance of files pertaining to PV management, but a doubtless lack of accuracy and quality of this data. Managing cybersecurity risks is a identical residence in the solar sector, with extra interconnected and shipshape devices offering opportunities for inefficiencies and security breaches.

Grabs additionally a lot that the rather homogenous nature of legislation in Europe, with the EU in a put to make regulatory oversight for the PV station, making it more straightforward to make products, such as Kontron Solar’s inverters, which can perhaps perhaps perhaps be compliant with cybersecurity requirements.

“Lots is taking place on the legislation side in Europe,” said Grabs. “These are long-established directives, so they’re no longer inverter particular, but there are a amount of requirements which can perhaps perhaps perhaps be appropriate for us. We are barely fully happy to survey there’s nothing [new] there for the hardware side [as] the hardware side has a lot extra questions than the software program side.”

The firm’s electric automobile (EV) chargers will doubtless be section of the fresh imprint, and are indicative of a growing curiosity in offering a differ of energy and electronics products and companies for firms in the solar sector, following Goldman Sachs’ renewable subsidy elevating US$325 million in finance earlier this 365 days, to make tasks along side EV charging and batteries.