Bringing Safe, High-Speed Ethernet to Hazardous Environments
October 6, 2025
Ethernet cables are familiar to just about everyone who uses a computer, providing high-speed wired connectivity to local, metropolitan, and wide area networks. But until recently, they couldn’t be used at the field level in factories with hazardous conditions.
Working with suppliers, ABBe developed Ethernet-APL – a safer solution that limits supply voltage and current to eliminate the risk of sparking.
With Ethernet-APL, you get:
➡️ Enhanced data rates of up to 10 Mbps
➡️ A shielded two wire connection
➡️ Cable lengths of up to 1,000 meters
Watch Tilo Merlin, Platform Manager at ABB, explain how we developed an ethernet solution in which intrinsic safety is fully integrated – enabling high-speed connectivity in challenging environments.
More Information
Tapping data pipelines: Ethernet-APL-enabled flowmeters
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