Abstract Switching and digital hydraulics require adequate switching valves for their practical application. A major criterion is the switching time which should in most cases be less than 5 ms. The demands on valve nominal flow rate are rather wide and range from less than 1 l/min (@ 5 bar) up to hundreds of litres. In this paper a new seat valve concept is presented. It is a piloted valve and employs a multi poppet concept. Its nominal flow rate is about 100 l/min and its switching time is about 1 ms for a pressure drop of 5 bar. With this valve energy efficient switching drives can be realized, for instance in the 10 kW to 20 kW range. Its seat type design makes the main stage a non leaking valve. Piloting is realized by a fast 3/2 solenoid actuated spool type switching valve with a nominal flow rate of 10 l/min @ 5 bar and a total switching time of about 2 ms. The paper presents the design of the poppet valve, simulation studies and experimental results concerning its static and dynamic characteristics.