Everyone is talking about sustainability. Together with digitisation, the two are currently leading to an extensive transformation of industry. Safe automation plays a key role in ensuring that this is successful.
Responsible use of resources has been on the agenda of a number of industries and companies for years. This results not only from the legal requirements and guidelines on a national and European level that impose extensive reporting obligations, but also from the requirements that result from increased environmental awareness on the part of customers and business partners. At the same time, digitisation and networking in industry are increasingly realising their potential and also receiving an additional boost from Artificial Intelligence.
Crises such as the coronavirus pandemic or component shortages, as well as political crises and the recent wars, have additionally accelerated the ongoing changes in digitisation and sustainability. Industry is undergoing a process of major transformation. Certain industries are affected more strongly by this change than others because they will play a key role in tackling the tasks ahead.
Key hydrogen industry needs safety
Hydrogen has a high energy density and is thus considered the energy carrier of the future. Green hydrogen is generated by splitting water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen using electric currents that are generated using renewable energy. With this boom, the requirements for functional safety and Industrial Security are also increasing.
Because hydrogen – like all fuels – harbours potential hazards. It is easily inflammable and highly explosive, even if just a small amount mixes with air – ignition is possible with an air content of only four percent. It is therefore important that air and hydrogen are not allowed to meet and that the risk of ignition due to sparks or heat is prevented. Safe production, handling and use require suitable safety systems.
Think of safety as a function
Safety-related considerations in the hydrogen industry focus on aspects such as gas tightness and robustness of shut-off devices or the pressure resistance and tightness of pipes, sensors or valves. Accordingly, the classic solutions to safety tasks frequently involve material properties and mechanical solutions: The more robust the shut-off valves are, for example, the safer they are to use. Ultimately, the highest process pressures are required for hydrogen fuelling of vehicles or trains, in some cases up to 700 bar.
“There are advantages to not limiting safety solely to a static status check. Tested and available safety principles from the automation industry and functional safety can also be applied to the hydrogen industry. The solutions help to always consider safety as an integral function of the plant, machinery and the correlations in the process,” explains Armin Glaser, Vice President Strategy and Cooperation at Pilz.
Safe automation solutions can thus take on additional tasks in addition to the classic safety functions, such as dynamic pressure and temperature monitoring or safe adherence to the load limits of downstream structures. Error states are detected in the millisecond range and lead to a defined safety response. Automation also guarantees safe data exchange and the visualisation of operating conditions and diagnostic messages, where applicable. A modern control system, comprising hardware, firmware and the engineering tool, can supply all status and diagnostic data that is displayed and can be evaluated via fieldbuses or industrial Ethernet for other devices, locally or remotely.

“Pilz is making progress toward integrating the knowledge gained over years regarding applications and solutions for functional safety in other industries as well – virtually a know-how transfer.”
Armin Glaser, Vice President Strategy and Cooperation
Thanks to this capability and the diagnostic options, the automation system PSS 4000 and the safe configurable small controller PNOZmulti 2 are currently the preferred solution of end users like ArcelorMittal in Belgium in the related area of burner management or of machine manufacturers like Bühler Haas in Austria. And in France, the automation system PSS 4000 from Pilz is already guaranteeing safety when releasing hydrogen at public filling stations.
“Pilz is making progress toward integrating the knowledge gained over years regarding applications and solutions for functional safety in other industries as well – virtually a know-how transfer,” says Armin Glaser with an eye on the future.
Know-how for battery production
Electromobility is part of the future. Manufacturing of batteries for electric cars is currently dominated by Asian manufacturers. According to expert estimates, 90 percent of machines for battery production come from the Asia-Pacific region.
“Even though other requirements or legal specifications apply in Asia with regard to safety: If the machinery required for battery production is to be used at European manufacturing sites, for example, then CE marking is required,” explains Jimmy Han, who supports a variety of machine builders and battery producers in Asia on behalf of Pilz when it comes to the topic of safe automation.

In other words, functional safety is mandatory. Pilz supports machine builders and operators around the world with safety technology for their plant and machinery. Added to this are extensive consulting and training services, so that the local machine builders can place their plants on the global market.
Digitisation requires Industrial Security
In addition to classic safety, Han is also noticing an increased interest in Industrial Security: The new manufacturing sites are highly networked and digitised. Protection against manipulation thus plays an important role here. “To prevent manipulation, the operators wish to be able to precisely control who has access to the plants,” clarifies Jimmy Han. “Our Identification and Access Management (I.A.M.) offers Safety and Security in one system. From user authentication to operating mode selection, data and network security to access management.” I.A.M. solutions from Pilz are already in use in factories in Asia and Europe.
Digital railway
In addition to e‑mobility, public transport of passengers is the second pillar of the targeted mobility turnaround. Digitisation and automation of signalling technology is a basic requirement for the necessary capacity increase of the rail infrastructure. “Thanks to open interfaces and commercial off-the-shelf solutions – meaning standardised products – Pilz can help to break up previously proprietary applications,” emphasises Sebastian Lüke, Head of Business Unit Rail at Pilz.

The independent Pilz business unit was founded in 2022 and focuses on the expansion of portfolios and application engineering specially tailored to the railway. Pilz is already working closely with operators, universities and other research partners, within the European research project EULYNX, among others. The intention is to develop and provide uniform industry standards for new modular interlocking technology. Major projects, such as the digitisation of the communication infrastructure in Sweden, demonstrate the contribution that safe automation solutions from industry can make on and next to the rails, as well.