An unprecedented water-recycling system for washing, rinsing and drying of thermal insulated containers within the Food Industry

Projektinformationen

Optainer

ID Finanzhilfevereinbarung: 877125

DOI

10.3030/877125

Projekt abgeschlossen

EK-Unterschriftsdatum 5 Juli 2019

Startdatum 1 August 2019

Enddatum 30 November 2019

Finanziert unter

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Gesamtkosten

€ 71 429,00

EU-Beitrag

€ 50 000,00

Koordiniert durch

LVP ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTIONS
Belgium

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Optainer (An unprecedented water-recycling system for washing, rinsing and drying of thermal insulated containers within the Food Industry)

Berichtszeitraum: 2019-08-01 bis 2019-11-30

Zusammenfassung vom Kontext und den Gesamtzielen des Projekts

Big food retailers use thermic insulated containers for the safe and efficient transportation of temperature-controlled food to retail stores facilities. These containers are cleaned in the logistic centres and reused countless number of time to ship food over and over again. Container cleaning is a crucial step in food operations and aspects like the effectiveness of the cleaning, the cost-efficiency of the process, the environmental impact and the water remaining in the container after the cleaning are crucial. The overall objective of this project is to develop an automated cleaning station capable for washing, rinsing and drying the inside and outside of food containers in a short time (1’ 40’’), at low cost (around 0.5 €/container), with reduced energy and water consumption.

Arbeit, die ab Beginn des Projekts bis zum Ende des durch den Bericht erfassten Berichtszeitraums geleistet wurde, und die wichtigsten bis dahin erzielten Ergebnisse

Optainer will be a step forward with respect to our current cleaning stations since it cleans both the inside and outside and is more cost-efficient and effective. Our TRL6 prototype will evolve towards a new cleaning station equipped with a new robotic arm to clean the outside. Thanks to the H2020 SME Instrument Phase 1 program we have been able to confirm the technical, commercial and financial viability of Optainer. We have identified the technical aspects to be developed and have set up a budget to achieve a TRL8 version. In addition, we have surveyed and segmented the market, have identified potential customers and have got more insight into the competitive landscape. We have also assessed technical and commercial risks and analysed competitors and competing technologies. We have established a business model and have forecasted the business.

Fortschritte, die über den aktuellen Stand der Technik hinausgehen und voraussichtliche potenzielle Auswirkungen (einschließlich der bis dato erzielten sozioökonomischen Auswirkungen und weiter gefassten gesellschaftlichen Auswirkungen des Projekts)

A major part of container cleaning is done manually and the few existing automated solutions only clean one of the sides and, in comparison to Optainer, show worse performance in terms of cleaning power, water and energy use, drying efficiency, speed of cleaning and occupied space in the logistic centre. The installation of Optainer cleaning stations will reduce risk for foodborne illnesses during transportation of food and will limit workers exposure to polluted boxes, will save money, energy and water and will speed up the logistic chain in food retailing market.

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