- Engineering Base 2026 consistently advances the digital substation
- Greater efficiency, less complexity – one system across the entire lifecycle
- World’s first fully integrated IEC 61850 within a seamless engineering platform
With the update to Engineering Base 2026, Aucotec presents a comprehensively enhanced platform: improved usability, increased automation and even greater flexibility in handling standards-compliant data models. At the core of the new version is rule-based validation and generation of IEC 61850 objects – directly within the platform.
Predefined rule sets support users in building structured and consistent, standards-compliant data models. Two new assistants – the Rule Set Editor and the IED Assistant – guide users through configuration, validation and modeling processes. Typical sources of error are reduced, workflows are standardized and engineering time is significantly shortened.
“With Engineering Base 2026, we make IEC 61850 not only integrable, but manageable,” explains Michaela Imbusch, Product Manager Power Transmission & Distribution at Aucotec. “Rule-based validation ensures that protection and control systems are modeled consistently from the outset – instead of being checked retrospectively.”
IEC 61850 fully integrated – without system discontinuities
In Leipzig, Aucotec will once again demonstrate the world’s first – and still unique – complete integration of IEC 61850 directly into plant engineering. Standards-compliant data models can be created without external tools, without XML exports and without media disruptions.
Functional data models of Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs) are directly linked to their physical hardware. Changes are centrally traceable, and all disciplines – from primary engineering to substation automation – work simultaneously on a shared data foundation.
“IEC 61850 has long been the DNA of modern substations,” says Imbusch. “With our full integration, we bring this DNA directly into the engineering system. This reduces complexity and creates genuine transparency across all disciplines.”
Structure instead of manual consolidation
Many bottlenecks in engineering are not caused by a lack of expertise, but by a lack of structure: data is consolidated manually, standards are not implemented consistently and changes are identified too late.
Engineering Base addresses these structural weaknesses with a central, data-driven model. Standards such as IEC 61850 and IEC 81346 are applied integratively – not merely documented, but actively embedded within the system.
This is particularly crucial in the context of decarbonization and accelerated grid expansion. Digital substations increasingly rely on servers and data buses rather than purely physical wiring. Document-based tools are losing relevance in such environments. Engineering Base enables purely alphanumeric detail definitions, without the mandatory need to draw circuit diagrams.
“A substation operates for decades,” emphasizes Imbusch. “A data-centric model ensures that information does not become static in folders, but remains consistent and up to date throughout its lifecycle.”
Engineering with future-proofing
With Engineering Base, Aucotec pursues a holistic approach for Power Transmission & Distribution – from primary technology to control systems, from planning to maintenance. Instead of isolated documents, a consistent digital twin is created: modular, scalable and usable across the entire lifecycle.
The 2026 update reinforces this claim by delivering greater automation, enhanced model quality, reduced coordination effort and a significantly streamlined system landscape.
At the VDE Congress 2026, Aucotec will therefore present more than a software update – it will demonstrate a structural contribution to the future of digital substations: efficient, standards-compliant and consistently data-driven.
