Project description
A machine to peel shrimp
Shrimp farming has been conducted for centuries. Since the 1970s, it has expanded from small-scale businesses into a global industry with production and consumption growing significantly. Thanks to technological advances, shrimp farming accounts for a global production that exceeds 1.6 million tonnes. In this context, the EU-funded ProPeeler project is developing an improved peeling machine as a cost-efficient alternative to hand-peeling methods, which continue to dominate production. Specifically, this new technology incorporates automated features such as direct drive mechanisms, a unique water control system, an improved uplift system and angle control. It also allows real-time monitoring via a vision control system that facilitates immediate intervention of the operator.
Objective
ProPeeler is an optimised peeling machine that will disrupt the current paradigm of the shrimp industry, one of the most popular seafood traded worldwide (20% of all seafood). Shrimp suppliers need solutions to increase their yields all while they reduce environmental footprint, improve the working conditions of their facilities, and ensure careful food safety and hygiene production while meeting growing demands. Automation has been one of the trends to respond to these growing pressures, evidenced by the fact that the processing equipment market is projected to surpass the €70 billion by 2022.
Hand-peeling continues to dominate shrimp production since a stable electricity and water supply, high costs of upfront investment and fluctuating global market prices of shrimp continue to be barriers for the switch to automation. With 30 years of experience in the sector, Martak has led the development of innovative products for the cold-water shrimp segment, securing 60% of the market. ProPeeler, the most innovative edition of our peeling technology incorporates automated features of the machinery (direct drive mechanisms, unique water control system, improved uplift system and angle control mechanism) with real-time monitoring via a revolutionary vision control system that facilitates immediate intervention of the operator. ProPeeler allows shrimp producers to increase their yields, saves up to 70% of electricity and 20% of water usage. In addition, the return of investment can be expected within 6-7 months.
Since ProPeeler is 20 years ahead of the current technology in the warm-water shrimp segment, it presents a real opportunity to enter a new market. Five years after ProPeeler market launch we plan to have penetrated the EU-Mediterranean countries, the US, South America and Asia. We have forecasted an accumulated revenue of €25 million in the five-year period after market launch and the creation of up to 10 new job positions
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringcontrol systems
- social sciencessociologyindustrial relationsautomation
- engineering and technologyother engineering and technologiesfood technologyfood safety
- social scienceseconomics and businesseconomicssustainable economy
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Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinator
101 REYKJAVIK
Iceland
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.