R&D Collaborations

Smart Grid Lab

Project Partner at the Smart Grid LAB Hessen

Under the leadership of the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, the Smart Grid LAB Hessen is being established with funding from the European Union and the Hessian Ministry of Economics, Energy, Transport, and Housing. The project involves a wide range of consortium partners, incorporating not only technical expertise but also various international experiences.

Goal
The realistic laboratory aims to simulate and comprehensively explore numerous test scenarios related to the intelligent power grid (Smart Grid) of the future by 2023. The electrical network is built from equipment in public grids, and all energy sources and consumption are modeled after real examples. This allows for the simulation of challenging grid situations in a safe manner.

Approach
In collaboration with partners, QGroup supports the establishment and operation of the laboratory. In addition to the electrical considerations of the consortium partners, QGroup examines segregation requirements from the perspective of effectively limiting cyber risks. This includes assessing attack surfaces and infrastructure vulnerabilities and determining requirements for scalable multilevel security related to resilience, as resilience and effective risk limitation are essential for stable and compliant public supply. QGroup also considers secure interaction requirements across security boundaries, as critical infrastructure is only as strong as its weakest link, and attacks are preferably carried out through the weakest point.

Advisory Board
The project of the consortium partners is supported by an extensive advisory board comprising members from various interest areas understanding the requirements for transforming the energy sector and its decentralized structures towards the Smart Grid. The advisory board includes representatives from network operators, energy providers, service providers, manufacturers, consulting firms, law firms, and banks.

Project Conclusion
In the subproject "Trusted Smart Grid," QGroup assessed resilience, segregation, digital security, and cybersecurity for the respective test setups, modules, and solutions. This involved analyzing attack vectors, protection needs, IT and OT systems, processes, protocols, systems, applications, and networks, considering authorization concepts, data flow, data security, system and data integrity, and supporting the identification of security structures required for cybersecurity, resilience, and segregation of the critical infrastructure "Smart Grid." The European-funded "flagship project" garnered interest from a broad advisory board comprising representatives from academia, industry, banking, research, and education.

The objective included developing minimum requirements and proposed solutions necessary for secure, cross-boundary networking, collaboration, and resilience to effectively reduce and restrict risks in the event of a cyber attack and minimize the attack surface. The results have been published, and QGroup is available to provide detailed information upon individual request.

Consortium Partners

Funding Partners