Module Type Package

What is Module Type Package?

Module Type Package (MTP) is a vendor-independent description of the automation of a process module, which allows that module to be integrated into a higher-level process control system via OPC UA without custom engineering. The MTP file contains the module’s services, operator screens, variables and communication settings, so the plant’s control system can “plug in” the module as a ready-made building block. The concept was developed by NAMUR and ZVEI, laid down in the VDI/VDE/NAMUR 2658 guideline series and is now maintained by PROFIBUS & PROFINET International (PI).

🧠 What problem does MTP solve?

In the process industry, plants used to run largely unchanged for decades. Today batch sizes are shrinking, products reach the market faster and plants have to be reconfigured regularly. Modular production responds to this: a plant is assembled from prefabricated, pre-tested modules such as a reactor skid, a dosing unit or a filtration unit.

The bottleneck was automation. Every module arrived with its own PLC, its own operator screens and long signal lists. A system integrator then had to program and test all those signals by hand in the DCS. MTP replaces that “bits and bytes” discussion with a standardised functional description: rather than individual valves and pumps, the module offers its services to the higher-level control system. This principle is known as Plug & Produce.

🧱 What are a PEA and a POL?

MTP separates two layers, each with its own responsibility:

The POL does not drive individual actuators inside a module. It calls services with parameters and monitors their state and process values. Process know-how stays with the module supplier, while the plant owner only orchestrates the functions.

📚 How is VDI/VDE/NAMUR 2658 structured?

The MTP specification is spread across the parts (Blätter) of the VDI/VDE/NAMUR 2658 guideline series, which is planned to comprise twelve parts:

Technically, an MTP is a ZIP file with the extension .mtp containing the module description in AutomationML (IEC 62714). It holds the operator screens in a presentation-independent form, the data objects, the services and their parameters, and the addresses on the module’s OPC UA server. During import, the POL replaces the generic HMI objects with the symbols of its own system, giving the whole plant a single look and feel.

Every service follows a fixed state model of sixteen states and ten commands, based on the state model in ISA-88. A service starts in Idle and can be started, paused, held, stopped or aborted by the POL. As a result, the POL controls a Heat service on module A in exactly the same way as a Dose service on module B.

🕰️ How did MTP come about?

For MTP 2.0, all parts were restructured and reworked into one consistent set of documents that can be adopted into an IEC standard practically unchanged. Functionally, the interlock mechanisms were improved, a three-way valve was added as a data object and the operating modes were defined more precisely. The basic concepts were deliberately left unchanged, so MTP 2.0 remains compatible with MTP 1.x. There is no international IEC standard yet: the original IEC 63280 Ed.1 project was deleted in December 2024, and the working group is now preparing a part 1 (IEC 63280-1) based on the MTP specification.

🏭 Where is MTP used?

• Pharma and biotech — small batches, fast product changeovers and GMP qualification; pre-qualified modules speed up scale-up
• Fine chemicals — multi-purpose plants that are reconfigured for each campaign
• Food and beverage — CIP units, mixing systems and dairy processes
• Large continuous plants — not the core process, but package units such as cooling, nitrogen or dosing units

Early adopters include BASF, Bayer, Evonik, Merck, Clariant and Covestro. Evonik integrated a cooling unit as a package unit into an existing plant in Singapore within a few days; around 80% of the operator screens came straight from the MTP, with 20% adjusted by hand. Merck has implemented, among others, a thin-film distillation unit, dosing systems and a membrane filtration unit with MTP.

🔧 How do you apply MTP in a project?

1. Specify MTP in procurement — include an MTP file and the required services in your requirements for the module supplier.
2. Define the services — which functions (for example Heat with target temperature, heating rate and holding time) must the POL be able to call?
3. The supplier engineers the PEA — the control logic is programmed into the prepared state model and the MTP is generated automatically by the engineering tool.
4. Test each module on its own — a factory acceptance test (FAT) per module, including the OPC UA interface.
5. Import the MTP into the POL — variables, operator screens and services appear without manual signal lists.
6. Orchestrate and test the plant — define the sequence of services in recipes or procedures and run the SAT.

According to NAMUR and ZVEI, an MTP covers 50 to 70 per cent of the engineering activities on the user side. Existing plants only benefit once their DCS is “MTP-ready”; systems such as Siemens PCS 7 and PCS neo now offer MTP integration.

🔄 How does MTP relate to DCS, NOA and the AAS?

MTP does not replace the DCS but changes its role: the DCS becomes the POL and orchestrates modules instead of controlling every signal itself. NAMUR Open Architecture (NOA) is a separate NAMUR concept that adds a second, secure channel for monitoring and optimisation alongside core control; MTP and NOA can be used independently or together. The MTP can be embedded in the Asset Administration Shell, the digital twin of Industry 4.0. MTP shares its use of OPC UA with the Open Process Automation initiative, and the organisations behind them coordinate their work.

🔐 How do you secure MTP connections?

Each module brings its own OPC UA server and its own controller into the plant. More modules therefore means more network connections and more equipment from different vendors. For information security, VDI/VDE/NAMUR 2658 refers to VDI/VDE 2182; in practice you apply IEC 62443:

• Security mode Sign & Encrypt — disable unencrypted OPC UA connections (security mode None)
• Certificate management — every POL client and PEA server gets its own X.509 certificate, with a replacement process when modules are swapped
• Network segmentation — place modules in their own zones, allowing only OPC UA traffic to the POL
• User rights — restrict who may call services and who may import MTP files
• Supplier requirements — ask module suppliers for IEC 62443-4-2-capable components and a secure maintenance concept

❓ Frequently asked questions

What does MTP stand for?

MTP stands for Module Type Package. It is a standardised description file for the automation of a process module, allowing a higher-level process control system to integrate that module without custom engineering.

Is MTP an official standard?

MTP is defined in the German VDI/VDE/NAMUR 2658 guideline series and in MTP Specification 2.0, published by PROFIBUS & PROFINET International in January 2026. An international IEC standard for MTP is still being developed by working group IEC TC 65/SC 65E WG 14, as IEC 63280-1.

Which communication protocol does MTP use?

MTP uses OPC UA for communication between the process module and the Process Orchestration Layer. The OPC UA server runs on the module’s controller and is configured by the module supplier; the MTP file describes which variables and services it exposes.

What is the difference between MTP and a GSD or IODD file?

A GSD or IODD file describes a single device, such as a transmitter or an I/O module. An MTP file describes a complete process module including its services, operator screens and alarms, so it works at a much higher functional level.

Is MTP only suitable for new plants?

No, MTP can also be used in existing plants, for example to connect package units such as cooling or dosing units quickly. The condition is that the existing process control system can import MTP files and act as a POL.

📌 In summary

Module Type Package makes process modules plug-and-produce: the module supplier delivers a standardised description of services and operator screens, and the POL integrates the module via OPC UA without manual signal lists. This significantly shortens project lead times in pharma and chemicals, but it does call for well-secured OPC UA connections and careful certificate management.