NFC Enables Secure Wireless Access to Smart Meters

The NFC-enabled smart meter brings together NXP with Landis+Gyr. The smart meter demonstrator, which integrates the Landis+Gyr E350 modular electricity meter and the NXP PN512 contactless transceiver IC supporting NFC, will be featured in the NXP booth (D02) and in the Landis+Gyr booth (C30) at the Metering Europe event, held in Amsterdam from October 4th through 6th.

Facts for the showcase at Metering Europe:
NXP and Landis+Gyr will be showing NFC use cases for visual display, including using an NFC phone to replace the LCD display in smart metering devices, for cost savings and convenience. The NFC smart meter demonstrator will also show how an NFC handset can be used to visualize current and historical energy consumption based on data stored in the meter via a mobile app.
From a security standpoint, the demo will show how the embedded secure element in NFC handsets can be used to manage the privacy of individual households, while providing the appropriate level of access for installation and service technicians.

In addition, authorized maintenance technicians can download metering information to handsets or tablets, or upload firmware if required to the meter via NFC.
A further use case is secure pairing of devices to enable home area network (HAN) communication.
Finally, NXP and Landis+Gyr will discuss how NFC phones can be used for secure and convenient pre-payment of electricity and other utilities, alongside contactless cards.
Both Landis+Gyr and NXP are active in supporting US and EU-driven initiatives to establish smart grids.
The NFC smart meter demonstrator will also be showcased at CarteS 2011, which will be held in Paris from November 14th to 17th, in the “At home” demo area of the NXP booth (4J 035, Hall 4).

Quotes:
“NFC opens up new possibilities for the smart grid. It will enable secure, bi-directional communication between metering points and utilities, as well as between smart meters and end-consumers. We can also envision cost-effective NFC solutions tailored specifically for local market needs – from enabling secure pre-payment via NFC-enabled phones to equipping consumers with mobile apps for personal energy management. We welcome customer feedback on the use cases we’re demonstrating together with NXP as we continue to explore new innovations in smart metering,” said Daniel Lauk, Head Platforms & Innovation EMEA at Landis+Gyr.

“The NFC ecosystem is growing and extends far beyond mobile payments. The smart meter demonstrator we’ve developed with Landis+Gyr is another example of the numerous use cases for NFC, as new industries take advantage of its security and convenience, as well as the interaction it enables between the physical and virtual worlds. We are thrilled to be working with Landis+Gyr, the leader in advanced energy metering solutions, to explore how utilities and consumers can benefit from the growing pervasiveness of NFC-enabled mobile devices, while making the most of existing energy metering infrastructure,” said Henri Ardevol, Vice President and General Manager, Secure Transactions, NXP Semiconductors.