EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG) now reports around 88 million EtherCAT nodes worldwide and even if the pace of growth in recent years could not be maintained due to the current global economic climate and the after-effects of chip overstocking, the result is impressive: another 11 million EtherCAT nodes were added in 2024 – an outstanding result in a challenging business environment. These node figures are very reliable as they are based on actual chip sales, which are reported by the chip manufacturers to Beckhoff Automation, the inventor of EtherCAT technology. “And they have no interest in exaggerating these figures, as this would entail additional costs for them,” explains Martin Rostan, Executive Director of the EtherCAT Technology Group. With EtherCAT, the technology license is included directly in the chip, so there are no additional license fees for device manufacturers and users. Beckhoff uses the license revenue to finance the activities of the EtherCAT Technology Group and thus the ecosystem surrounding the technology.