Seamlessly connect electric vehicles, chargers, and other infrastructure with end-to-end vehicle-to-cloud communication for smarter charging infrastructure

TwinCAT 3 IoT OCPP and EL6761 EtherCAT Terminal Transform E-Mobility Charging Communication

SAVAGE, Minnesota, October 5, 2026 – Despite recent market volatility, electric vehicle technologies and the charging infrastructure behind them continue to accelerate unabated. To better connect charging networks, stations, and EVs, Beckhoff has expanded its TwinCAT IoT product portfolio with support for the Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP). This leverages the WebSocket protocol recently introduced for the TwinCAT IoT driver.

OCPP standardizes communication between charging stations for electric vehicles and their associated central management systems. Combined with the new EL6761 EtherCAT Terminal, which serves as a communication interface in compliance with IEC 61851 and ISO 15118, this delivers a universal communication solution for EV charging infrastructure.

The new TwinCAT 3 IoT OCPP (TF6771) introduces OCPP as a C++ driver associated with the PLC library as a wrapper. Given high market demands, OCPP versions 1.6 and 2.0.1 are being implemented first. The focus is on the following two use cases:

TwinCAT automation software as the controller for the charging station, working with the new EL6761 EtherCAT Terminal, it is then connected to the central management system as an OCPP client.
When connecting other charging stations via the OCPP protocol, TwinCAT functions as part of the central management system, e.g., to enable local load management of a charging station network. Simultaneously, TwinCAT can be connected to another management system to implement authentication or billing mechanisms, for example.

The EL6761 1-channel communication interface offers two additional options: the EtherCAT Terminal can enable communication within the charging infrastructure, directly to the electric vehicle, and from it to the higher-level charging management system. Two independent communication standards are supported: PWM communication according to IEC 61851 and powerline communication according to ISO 15118. The latter provides a flexible communication channel to transmit all necessary data between the vehicle and the charging station.