Cybersecurity Considerations for Hydrogen Water Electrolyser Stack Components

1. Introduction

With the advent of green hydrogen technologies and the increasing digitization of water electrolysis systems, cybersecurity has become a fundamental component of operational safety, data integrity, and national infrastructure protection. As India transitions toward sustainable energy under missions like the National Green Hydrogen Mission, ensuring robust cybersecurity for Hydrogen Water Electrolyser Stacks is critical — especially for the digital and connected elements including transducers, semiconductors, and RF-based communication modules.

2. Need for Cybersecurity in Electrolyser Systems

Electrolysers are increasingly being integrated with smart sensors and transducers, advanced semiconductor devices, and wireless modules. Each of these components, if not properly secured, becomes a potential cyber-attack surface.

3. Key Components and Cybersecurity Considerations

A. Transducers

Recommendations include authenticated communication, tamper-detection, and redundancy.

B. Semiconductors

Recommendations include secure sourcing, root-of-trust, and penetration testing.

C. RF Transmitters

Recommendations include encryption, frequency hopping, and access control.

4. Cybersecurity Standards to Be Integrated in BIS Guidelines

5. Suggested BIS Actions

1. Define a Minimum Cybersecurity Compliance Checklist
2. Mandate Source Traceability and Security Audits
3. Introduce a BIS Cybersecurity Label
4. Establish a National Cyber Lab Testing Facility

6. Conclusion

Cybersecurity must be integral to the safe deployment of hydrogen electrolysers in India. Transducers, semiconductors, and RF modules are active nodes in the cyber-physical chain.

7. Ensuring Trusted Sources and Trusted Products in the Hydrogen Value Chain

Hydrogen is a high-energy, high-risk, and strategically sensitive fuel. Any compromise in the cybersecurity or physical integrity of its production equipment — especially electrolysers — can lead to severe safety, environmental, and national security consequences.

Therefore, we recommend that the BIS Cybersecurity Standard for Hydrogen Electrolyser Systems must enforce the following principles:

A. Trusted Source Procurement Policy

• All key components including transducers, semiconductors, controllers, RF modules, and software must be procured from verified and certified vendors
• Establish a National Hydrogen Supply Chain Security Framework under BIS to whitelist trusted OEMs and exclude counterfeit or compromised suppliers.

B. Secure-by-Design Product Development

• Products must incorporate security at the hardware, firmware, and software level:
    
• Firmware signing and verification
•  Encryption of stored and transmitted data
• Devices must come with minimum cybersecurity capability labels — a trust mark that certifies compliance with security protocols.

D. Alignment with India’s National Cybersecurity Policy

• The standard must align with Indian frameworks including:
• CERT-In guidelines
• NCIIPC directives
• Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat mandates

India:

• India faces similar cybersecurity risks in its electricity sector as the EU, especially from state-backed and proxy cyberattacks. While the EU has a more formalized regulation, India is progressing via sectoral guidelines and CII frameworks.
• However, there is a critical need for India to adopt a comprehensive, sector-specific cybersecurity code, along with targeted executive training to protect its energy infrastructure from growing geopolitical cyber threats.

Here’s a concise statement you can use to explain how Greenzo is contributing to electricity sector cybersecurity:

Greenzo Energy’s Role in Power Sector Cybersecurity:

At Greenzo Energy, cybersecurity is not an afterthought—it’s a core design principle. As we develop critical systems like electrolyzers and smart power infrastructure, we are proactively:

• Hardening Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) used in our systems to prevent unauthorized access and tampering.
• Implementing secure-by-design architecture that minimizes vulnerabilities in both hardware and software layers.
• Incorporating cybersecurity controls from the design stage, aligned with international best practices and evolving Indian standards.
• Plugging known cyber threat vectors, especially those related to remote access, firmware manipulation, and industrial communication protocols (e.g., Modbus, OPC-UA).
• Collaborating with cybersecurity experts to conduct penetration testing, risk assessments, and update patches regularly.