The overall objective of this project is to develop a pilot plant for the production of plant-based milk alternatives, which, by means of AI-supported control, enables a production process from which both an end product with high consumer acceptance emerges, as well as usable by-products that can be fed back into the production process, e.g. after processing.

By using sensor technology with an AI-supported control system, process steps are to be ideally coordinated with each other so that an optimal raw material output can be realized even with changing raw materials. This would realize a production with a focus on holistic raw material utilization based on the plant-based milk alternatives use case, which has not existed to date. The basis for the construction of such a demonstrator plant will be provided by the use of human sensory, chemical and technological-economic analysis. Taking these criteria into account, the technological processes of the manufacturing procedure will be defined and the necessary control technology will be planned.

Sponsor:                          BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research)

Funding program:         FH-Impuls

Funding code:                13FH3I09IA

Cooperation partners: Molkerei Gropper GmbH & Co. KG, Schneider Electric GmbH, ProXES GmbH, Erbslöh Eisenheim GmbH, Dr. August Oetker Nahrungsmittel KG, GEA Westfalia Separator Group GmbH, GEA TDS GmbH

Duration:                         01.06.2023 - 31.05.2026

Project participants:    Prof. Jan Schneider, Prof. Martina Sokolowsky, Prof. Hans-Jürgen Danneel