The European Commission is blocking EU funding for solar panel inverters from suppliers it deems high-risk, including Chinese tech giant Huawei. This was reported by Politico, according to UNN.
Details
European Commission spokesperson Siobhan Millbright told reporters that the EU executive has decided to "immediately take concrete measures" against the "risk of disruption of critical EU infrastructure by foreign actors," specifically by "developing recommendations to limit the use of EU funds for projects using inverters from high-risk suppliers."
According to an EU official, suppliers already involved in EU-funded projects may request an exemption. The European Commission will decide by November 1 whether to allow such projects to continue without restrictions on suppliers. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to comment officially.
Inverters are the technology that converts electricity from solar panels into the current fed into the power grid. Huawei is one of the leaders in this market.
The EU has long been concerned about threats from Chinese tech companies Huawei and ZTE in the field of 5G networks and seeks to compel EU member states to remove them from telecommunications infrastructure.
Recently, fears have grown regarding Huawei's dominance in the solar technology sector as well.
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According to Millbright, the risks of foreign interference in energy grids include manipulation of power generation parameters, disruption of generation, and unauthorized access to operational data. This could lead to "remote shutdowns... causing large-scale power outages."
The ban applies to suppliers from China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran. At the same time, Chinese manufacturers occupy about 80% of the global solar inverter market.
The updated Cyber Resilience Act also aims to address these risks in the medium term.
Beijing has previously threatened to respond to measures that restrict Chinese suppliers in the EU market.
Huawei has not yet commented on the situation.