Industry insiders call for more details about Reuters report into alleged Chinese spying devices

An apparent news bombshell broke on Wednesday.

A report by global news agency Reuters claimed unexplained communication devices had been found inside some Chinese-made inverters and battery energy storage systems. US energy officials were “reassessing the risk posed by Chinese-made devices, according to two anonymous sources,” Reuters stated. The report did not mention manufacturers or the number of devices investigated.

“It’s clear that the issue of cybersecurity is a real and worrying problem but this [Reuters] information should be taken with a grain of salt,” said Garikoitz Sarriegi, senior project manager at the Iberian business of solar consultancy Kiwa PI Berlin.

Sarriegi told pv magazine the Reuters report stated those involved in the “investigation” into Chinese equipment declined to provide further information, no manufacturers were named, it was not clear if the probe related to products from multiple manufacturers, and the number of potentially problematic devices was also not mentioned.

Industry insider Martin Schachinger, who pens a monthly column for pv magazine, stated on the LinkedIn social media platform, “Unfortunately information is still very scarce and superficial. I’m eager to find out if more details will be published at some point or if this will be a smokescreen that will further fuel existing conspiracy theories.”

The Reuters copy mentioned a US proposal to ban products from some big Chinese battery energy storage system (BESS) manufacturers, from 2027, due to their alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party. With Huawei products already banned in the United States, American electric utilities fear inverters from other Chinese manufacturers could suffer the same fate.

“At Kiwa PI Berlin, we are talking with the largest BESS manufacturers and have verified that several of the smaller players involved use cells from these [Chinese] manufacturers that could be subject to [a] ban, so these other manufacturers would also be excluded,” said Sarriegi. “Given the market share of Chinese manufacturers, we find it difficult to believe that [a] ban will have any effect unless policies regarding this issue change drastically.”

The project manager said several major Spanish engineering firms have told Kiwa PI Berlin they “do not install any components not declared in the BOM (bill of materials)” of products. The engineers state, according to Sarriegi, that without the permission of an equipment manufacturer they cannot update inverter parameters, modify firmware, or shut down or start the devices.

“What’s more, it seems that they have occasionally had problems because the [manufacturer] has not granted them access or has been slow to do so,” added Sarriegi.

Spanish inverter makers can shut down equipment remotely. “It’s something that can be done for security reasons, always with the client’s permission,” said the project manager. “I’m sure that if we ask any other European manufacturer, the answer will be the same.”

When equipment is certified, said Sarriegi, “Everything is okay, but firmware updates are often performed through remote access and those don’t necessarily have to be certified. That’s where things can slip through the net.” With reference to the Reuters report, he added, “But you have to be very sure and provide truthful information before dropping such a bombshell.”

From pv magazine Spain.