Swedish firm HMS Networks has introduced two smart-grid gateways that let IO and wifi sensors connect to energy networks.

The firm is expanding its Ixxat SG-gateway series for networking of energy components. The two multi-IO versions allow traditional IO sensors as well as sensors or devices in wifi networks to be connected to energy systems using IEC 61850 and IEC 60870.

Users benefit from direct and seamless access to sensor data from the control room, as well as industrial IoT capabilities for monitoring, maintenance and forecasting purposes.

Digitalisation of energy technology is important for mastering the future challenges of sustainable energy supply. With Ixxat SG-gateways, device manufacturers, system integrators, energy suppliers and network operators get instant status information into the control room through direct access to plant data from various sources. This enables efficient system operation, fast reactions to network disturbances, and remote monitoring and maintenance of devices and systems.

The compact Ixxat SG-gateways are especially suitable for retrofitting plants and digitalisation of substations, and are used in many areas of energy automation, for example in power plants and at large energy consumers.

Thanks to the wide range of interfaces and protocols supported, the gateways remove the need for installing several separate gateways, such as Fieldbus gateways, sensor gateways, IoT gateways and firewalls.

Adding to the existing support for IEC 61850, IEC 60870, Ethernet/IP, Profinet, MQTT and 4G, the two SG-gateways have multi-IO and wifi capabilities – WLAN according to IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n. With this, traditional as well as wireless sensors can be connected to control rooms and cloud systems.

Besides RS232, RS485 and Ethernet, eight digital IOs (24V DC) and eight analogue inputs (0-20mA or 0-10V) are available for direct sensor connection, all switchable via software.

Example applications are temperature monitoring of high-voltage lines via wifi using Modbus TCP, pressure and density measurement of cooling liquids using Modbus RTU, and room temperature or humidity measurement in buildings using analogue or digital IOs.

The acquired data from sensors, Fieldbus and energy protocols are made available by the SG-gateway in control room applications and scada and can be integrated into the user’s cloud system of choice.

For direct use in a targeted system and protocol, the data can be pre-processed by the SG-gateway using the integrated WebPLC. Data security is ensured via a local firewall, access management and via encrypted data transmission. Depending on the used protocol, this is done either with OpenVPN or TLS 1.3.

HMS Networks develops and manufactures products under the Anybus, Ixxat, Ewon and Intesis brands. Development takes place at its headquarters in Halmstad, and in Ravensburg, Nivelles, Igualada, Wetzlar, Buchen and Delft. Local sales and support are handled by branch offices in Germany, USA, Japan, China, Singapore, Italy, France, Spain, Netherlands, India, UK, Sweden, South Korea and UAE, as well as through a worldwide network of distributors and partners.

The company employs more than 700 people and reported sales of SEK1467m in 2020.