Hilscher and HIMA Partner for Functionally Safe Communication
Hattersheim, 18 March 2026 – HIMA Group and Hilscher have signed a strategic partnership to jointly develop and market building blocks for functionally safe communication. The cooperation targets device manufacturers that need safety and industrial networking in one design. For this, the companies are jointly presenting a new product: An evaluation board which enables faster validation and reduced development efforts for machines requiring functional safety up to SIL 3/PL e/Cat. 4.
HICore 1 and netX 90 on a single hardware
The technical foundation of this cooperation combines two major components in one hardware platform. It pairs the HICore 1, a TÜV-certified Safety SoC by HIMA, with Hilscher’s netX 90 multiprotocol communication controller on a new evaluation kit.
This evaluation kit enables users to develop and test safety solutions up to SIL 3/PL e/Cat. 4. A fully integrated solution is already available for PROFIsafe. Corresponding solutions for FSoE (FailSafe over EtherCAT) and CIP Safety are currently in the works.
Reduced development efforts for shorter time to market
Many development teams integrate safety and industrial communication as separate subsystems. This creates extra interfaces, test steps, and documentation work binding valuable resources. The new cooperation of HIMA and Hilscher reduces this integration effort and shortens time to market.
Using only two small SoCs, both with a proven track record in countless applications around the globe to achieve encompassing safety functionalities additionally minimizes development risk. HIMA and Hilscher also deliver dedicated and professional support for all topics related to safety as well as industrial communication, while customers remain focused on their core competencies.
In addition to safety requirements, the solution also prepares customers and their products for upcoming cybersecurity requirements emerging from new regulations such as the European Cyber Resilience Act (CRA).
First unveiling at SPS 2025
Already at SPS 2025 in Nuremberg, Hilscher and HIMA were able to present the evaluation kit and solution examples together for the first time. The great interest shown at Germany most important automation trade fair demonstrated that this partnership offers great potential. The already proven cooperation of the two companies is thus entering the next phase.
A strong partnership thrives on shared goals and the right spirit. That is exactly what we experience in our collaboration with Hilscher. I am convinced that our joint market development efforts will unlock a great deal of potential and create sustainable added value for our customers.
Vahid Rezaei
Director Embedded Systems Business
HIMA Group
The cooperation with HMA brings together two things that belong together: leading functional safety solutions , and flexible industrial communication that securely connects this technology in plants around the globe.
Heiko Henkel
Head of Product Management Chip
Hilscher
HICore 1 is a TÜV-certified Safety System on Chip (Safety SoC) developed by HIMA, provides versatile application for functional safety in embedded designs and enables safe communications for applications like safe sensors, safe actuators and safe remote I/Os. Certified in accordance with IEC 61508 Ed. 2 for safety-related systems up to SIL 3, it combines a redundant microcontroller architecture with a secure operating system and certified communication libraries for protocols such as PROFIsafe, CIP Safety, and FSoE. By providing a ready-made, hardware-based safety platform, HICore 1 significantly reduces development time and costs – enabling up to 70% faster TÜV certification and accelerating time to market.
netX 90 is Hilscher’s multiprotocol communication controller for industrial device applications (formerly slave). The netX 90 SoC combines industrial Ethernet as well as Fieldbus communication with an innovative architecture, boasting two ARM Cortex-M4 processor cores, built-in security as well as diagnostics and a rich set of peripherals. One hardware platform covers all major network standards such as PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, EtherCAT, and more. Unified tools and interfaces, accompanied by extensive services and support, speed up device development and reduce integration effort for users.
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