Rethink Energy 4 Food

Funding

Summary

The energy crisis has made us realize that the food industry depends on the availability and cost of energy systems for several links in the food processing process to remain profitable. With the emergence of renewable energy sources (e.g. Mechanical vapour Recompression, latest-generation high-temperature heat pumps) and more energy-efficient food processing technologies (e.g. microwave technology, vacuum cooling, optimized ventilation cooling), it is possible to reduce dependence on fossil energy carriers. In addition, flexible control of the various electrical and thermal energy sources will be an additional focus in the future.

VEG-i-TEC is active within the focus project Energy Resilience. This project is investigating how to deal flexibly with a fluctuating energy supply without compromising process stability. To this end, we look at energy storage technologies to store residual heat or generated energy for later production runs, for example, and, on the other hand, energy management systems to use the energy supply as efficiently as possible. We also look at macro trends in energy systems for the food industry using the BE-TIMES model.

Partners

Flanders' FOOD and Flux50 manage and coordinate the project with guidance from Fevia Flanders. Implementation is in cooperation with:

Duration

• Start: February 2024
• End: January 2028