Hanover Light Rail Tests Backup Battery Cyber Resilience

HANOVER, GERMANY – An automated power supply system with backup batteries will be tested at a substation on Hanover’s light rail network in 2026 to assess resilience to cyber attacks. The test is one of four pilot projects under the European PREVENT programme, which involves 23 organisations. Experts will analyse penetration points, data-exchange security, and the physical effects of unauthorised commands.

What Are the Technical Specifications?

The Hanover pilot will test protection against tampering, data-exchange security, and safety mechanisms triggered when a component is compromised. The backup batteries are intended to increase resilience and provide an alternative energy source during a disruption. The trial also examines how unauthorised commands could cause power supply equipment to fail or malfunction, and it sits within PREVENT’s wider focus on electric buses, car-sharing services, charging infrastructure, vehicles, IT platforms and fleet management systems.

Key Technical Data

Where Does This Technology Stand in the Market?

Siemens Mobility’s Sitras SCS and ABB’s Ability Network Manager are two commercial traction power control products that overlap with the Hanover pilot’s substation automation scope. Siemens Sitras SCS offers integrated DC traction power control and SCADA functions vs the Hanover pilot’s automated power supply with backup batteries and cyber-resilience focus. ABB Ability Network Manager offers grid connection monitoring and remote control vs the Hanover pilot’s emphasis on substation-level backup energy and tamper-response validation. Siemens’ product is deployed across multiple light rail and metro networks, whereas the Hanover system remains a research pilot under PREVENT rather than a commercial rollout. No market-share figures for automated backup-battery power supply systems in light rail were publicly available at time of publication. (Source: Siemens Mobility, 2023; ABB, 2022)

Hanover’s test also builds on a 2020 collaboration between the network and Leibniz University Hannover on industrial and usable security, which Lower Saxony confirmed as highly significant in 2023, and on DFG TRR248/2 at CISPA, which develops comprehension in cyber-physical worlds. (Source: Leibniz University Hannover, 2020; Lower Saxony, 2023; CISPA, ongoing)

Editor’s Analysis

The Hanover pilot signals that cyber defence for traction power is moving from IT-only concerns into physical power equipment testing, aligning with Europe’s estimated €20 billion rail signalling modernisation market where digital upgrades demand resilient substations. Suppliers such as Siemens Mobility and ABB already embed cybersecurity in power control products, so PREVENT’s public pilot may push operators to require backup energy and tamper-response validation in future tenders. If results feed into procurement criteria, the light rail sector could see cyber resilience become a differentiating feature for substation automation contracts. (Source: Railmarket, 2025)

FAQ

Q: Where exactly in Hanover will the cyber-resilience test take place?
A: The primary source identifies only “a substation on Hanover’s light rail network.” The exact substation name and address have not been disclosed.

Q: When will results from the Hanover trial be available?
A: No official publication date has been disclosed. The PREVENT kick-off was 6–7 May 2026 in Valencia, and results would follow the pilot phase.

Q: Will passengers on Hanover’s light rail network experience service changes during the test?
A: The primary source does not indicate any passenger-facing service disruption. The test will occur at a substation, but passenger impact has not been officially confirmed.