ESMC welcomes EU focus on inverter cybersecurity and calls for independent European supply chains. New Inverter, Storage and EMS Forum established.
The European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) welcomes the European Commission’s new Economic Security Doctrine “Strengthening EU Economic Security”, which explicitly identifies solar inverters from Chinese suppliers as a high‑risk dependency due to supplier concentration, cyber‑manipulation risks, and access to grid‑relevant operational data. The Communication foresees coordinated NIS2 cyber‑risk assessments (2026), Cyber Resilience Act certification and utilizing Net‑Zero Industry Act (NZIA) non‑price resilience criteria.
ESMC strongly supports this strategic shift. Around 80% of Europe’s new PV systems rely on Chinese inverters, with two vendors dominating Europe’s market – creating systemic cybersecurity risks. Firmware or software updates could influence millions of systems simultaneously. This could result in serious harm for the European power system including large black-outs. ”The secutiry doctrine is a wake-up call for the EU member states: They now need to work on massively reducing dependencies and cyber risks”, ESMC Secretary General Christoph Podewils said.
ESMC particularly welcomes the Commission’s intention to “support the development of trusted suppliers of critical subcomponents in the EU and in trusted third countries so that there are viable alternatives”. This approach is essential to reduce structural dependencies and strengthen Europe’s clean‑energy resilience.
ESMC reiterates that European and other Western manufacturers are still on the technological forefront and would have the manufacturing capacity to meet 100% of European demand.
ESMC calls for the following actions:
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– Establish an EU-levelwhitelist of trustworthy inverter vendors based on cybersecurity and jurisdictional risk criteria.
– Integrate this whitelist into NIS2, the ICT supply‑chain toolbox and NZIA Articles 25–28 as well as into all relevant EU network codes.
– Enable Member States to deny grid connection to inverter hardware from high-risk vendors.
– Apply support schemes under NZIA Art. 28 to incentivise secure inverter choices.
– Enforce the Foreign Subsidies Regulation to counter distortive subsidised imports.
A resilient European renewable‑energy system requires European‑made, cyber‑secure technologies. ESMC stands ready to support the European Commission, ENISA and Member States in deploying the new economic‑security framework across the solar‑PV value chain.
New ”Inverter, Storage and EMS Forum facilitated by ESMC”
To strengthen these capabilities, ESMC has established the ”Inverter, Storage and Energy Management Systems Forum”, bringing together many Western manufacturers, including all the leading European ones.
The Inverter, Storage and EMS Forum strengthens Europe’s energy security and strategic autonomy by promoting a resilient, competitive, and cyber-secure ecosystem of Western inverter, storage, and EMS manufacturers. As critical digital components of the energy system, these technologies must be trustworthy, transparent, and shielded from both technical and non-technical risks that are linked to software and firmware updates, remote-access capabilities, and supply-chain dependencies. In particular, the Forum emphasises that non-technical risk factors – such as governance structures, ownership, external influence, and the overall trustworthiness of entities – are as decisive for security as technical safeguards.
The Forum discusses and prepares industry positions, engages with EU and national authorities, and contributes to ongoing EU initiatives – including the NZIA, Cyber Resilience Act, Cyber Security Act, NIS2, and all relevant energy security measures – to ensure strong and future-proof regulatory frameworks. It advocates for high cybersecurity standards, secure-by-design technology, and diversified Western supply chains that reduce dependence on a dominant source of supply. The Forum promotes reliability, accountability, and long-term trustworthiness of entities interacting with Europe’s critical energy infrastructure.
Open to ESMC members and eligible Western non-members, the Forum collaborates widely with grid operators, energy-security agencies, standardisation bodies, and other stakeholders, and actively participates in EU fora to advance Europe’s digital and energy resilience.
The forum´s founding members are: Enphase Energy, Fronius International, Ingeteam, Kostal, Power Electronics, SMA Solar Technology, SolarEdge, Tesvolt, and Vector Energy.