Evaluating Post-Quantum Cryptography for Resource-Constrained AMI Gateways

Quantum computing threatens the security of classical public-key cryptography, prompting the development of post-quantum cryptographic (PQC) standards. Integrating these algorithms into embedded systems such as Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) gateways is challenging due to limited memory and power resources. This work evaluates the feasibility of deploying ML-KEM, ML-DSA, XMSS, and LMS on representative AMI hardware using a QEMU-based emulation testbed. We measure CPU cycles, peak RAM usage, and per-operation energy consumption across three typical gateway profiles. The results show that stateless schemes are compatible with current AMI constraints, while stateful schemes require more careful resource management.