CIGRE 2026: Moxa Helps Utilities Architect Every Stage of the Substation Journey

From Secure Digital Foundations to Software-defined Substation Architectures

Moxa will demonstrate at CIGRE 2026 (August 23-28, Paris) how utilities can build resilient, secure, and future-ready substations. At Booth Level 3, C172, under the theme Architecting Every Stage of the Substation Journey, Moxa will present solutions that help utilities, including transmission and distribution system operators (TSOs and DSOs), strengthen operational visibility, communication resilience, and cyber resilience while preparing for software-defined substation architectures.

As power systems become increasingly digital, substations are evolving from their traditional role as power delivery assets to critical operational hubs. Utilities today face increasing pressure to modernize substation infrastructure while maintaining operational continuity, cybersecurity, and long-term scalability. At the same time, many operators must integrate legacy systems into modern digital environments without disrupting ongoing operations. These challenges are driving new requirements for network visibility, secure communications, and resilient architectures to support ongoing grid modernization. At CIGRE, Moxa will demonstrate how utilities can effectively address these evolving demands.

What to Expect at Moxa Booth Level 3, C172:

• Live Demo: A fully operational IEC 61850 digital substation environment showcasing real-time network visibility, communication monitoring, and redundancy mechanisms.
• Preview of Future-ready Infrastructure: Technologies supporting virtualization-ready computing and flexible architectures for software-defined substations.
• Meet Moxa Experts: Exchange with OT cybersecurity specialists on IEC 62443 compliance and defense-in-depth strategies.

Building Today’s Digital Foundations

A central feature of the Moxa booth will be a fully operational IEC 61850 digital substation demonstration, showcasing the technologies underpinning reliable substation communication today. Within a unified environment, the demo combines network visibility, communication monitoring, time synchronization and redundancy mechanisms.

Designed for utility operators, system integrators, and protection and control specialists, the showcase illustrates how modern substations can operate with greater operational confidence through improved network visibility and reliable communication infrastructure.

Preparing for Software-defined Substations

Moxa will also highlight its approach to future software-defined substations. As utilities seek greater flexibility and scalability, software-centric architectures are expected to play an increasingly important role in substation design and operation.

At the exhibition, Moxa will showcase infrastructure concepts that support this transition, including virtualization-ready computing platforms and flexible network architectures capable of adapting to changing operational needs. This c highlights how utilities can establish digital foundations today while creating a pathway toward software-defined environments with greater flexibility and scalability over the system lifecycle.

Three Key Priorities for Substation Operations

Throughout CIGRE, Moxa will focus on three priorities shaping substation operations: operational visibility, communication resilience, and cyber resilience.

Operational visibility remains essential as digital substations become more complex. Solutions such as Moxa’s MXview One network management platform provide real-time insight into IEC 61850 communication flows, timing status, and network health, enabling faster troubleshooting and supporting preventive maintenance.

Communication resilience is equally critical for continuous operations. Moxa will demonstrate industrial networking solutions designed for high availability, supporting redundancy mechanisms, precise timing synchronization, and robust communication infrastructure to ensure reliable performance in mission-critical substation environments. These capabilities are supported by Moxa’s industrial Ethernet switching portfolio.

Cyber resilience forms the third pillar of Moxa’s approach. As cyber threats increasingly target critical infrastructure, utilities require secure networking architectures that support defense-in-depth strategies. At CIGRE 2026, Moxa will demonstrate its IEC 62443-4-2 certified portfolio, supporting secure communication, network segmentation, firewall protection, and improved visibility of cybersecurity events. Solutions such as the EDR-G9010 secure router and RKS-G4000 series help utilities strengthen the security of modern substation networks and support regulatory requirements.

Thought Leadership at CIGRE 2026

Beyond the exhibition, Moxa experts will contribute three technical papers addressing key industry topics. They reflect Moxa’s ongoing commitment to advancing secure and resilient power systems:

Cybersecurity & System Resilience (D2 PS2)

How deep packet inspection enables real-time inline defense for IEC 61850 digital substations, without compromising deterministic protection performance.

Title: Cyber Sentinels: Harnessing Deep Packet Inspection for Real-Time Defense of Substation

Authors: King Wu, Hilbert Lu, Kate Huang

Knowledge & Competency in PAC Engineering (B5 PS1)
A practical training framework to close the communication networking skills gap in protection and automation engineering because the digital substation demands more than traditional electrical training.
Title: Developing Communication Networking Competencies in PAC Engineering

Author: Sever Sudakov

Distributed Energy & Grid Edge (C6 PS3)
A dual-gateway microgrid architecture that unifies DER management and EV charging via IEEE 2030.5 and OCPP. This approach enhances energy management for the microgrid while also enabling it to play a part in the overall distribution grid orchestration.

Title: Efficient Energy Management Architecture of Distributed Energy Resource Microgrid Site with Electrical Vehicle Supply Equipment

Authors: Raymond Shieh, Justin Tung, Michael Lin, Erik Ma

Visitors to CIGRE 2026 are invited to meet Moxa experts at Booth Level 3, C172 to discuss substation challenges and explore practical solutions across every stage of their substation journey. Visitors can book a one-on-one meeting with Moxa experts at https://moxa-europe.com/lp/cigre-2026.

Further information about Moxa’s portfolio is available at https://www.moxa.com/en/solutions/power.