SPARC : Secure Post-quantum Architecture for Resilient Charging

This proposal addresses the urgent need to secure Europe’s EV charging infrastructure against emerging quantum threats while ensuring compliance with upcoming regulatory frameworks such as the EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), NIS2, GDPR, and Eichrecht measurement requirements.

The project’s core ambition is to develop a post-quantum secure, hardware-trusted EV charging ecosystem, future-proofing smart grids against quantum decryption risks and cyberattacks.

Key Technical Objectives:

• Integration of PQC algorithms (ML-KEM, HAWK, ML-DSA, etc.) into ISO 15118 and OCPP 2.0.1 protocols.

• Benchmarking lightweight PQC on EVSE embedded hardware and smart meters.

• Hardware-based key protection using Secure Boot, ARM TrustZone, Encrypted Flash, HSM/TPM.

• Eichrecht-compliant metering with digitally signed, tamper-proof, and auditable consumption data.

• Secure OTA updates with signed firmware and rollback mechanisms.

• Mutual TLS and certificate-based authentication (X.509 PKI).

Impact & Expected Outcomes:

• A scalable PQC migration path for EVSE manufacturers and operators.

• Contributions to European PQC standards and the open-source ecosystem.

• EU-wide market readiness, aligning with CRA certification schemes and Eichrecht compliance.

• Reusable reference architecture for energy, IoT, and critical infrastructure sectors.

Timeline (36 months):

1. Months 1–6: PQC scheme selection, embedded hardware setup, regulatory mapping.

2. Months 7–18: Implementation, benchmarking, OTA security integration.

3. Months 19–30: PQC-enabled protocol extensions, key management prototyping, Eichrecht metering module.

4. Months 31–36: Field testing, certification preparation, standardization contributions