The European food and beverage industry has a significant potential to improve its energy efficiency and increase its use of renewable energy. By achieving a reduction of production costs and fossil fuel carbon emissions, global competitiveness of the industry can be fostered and secured, especially for SMEs. The IEE project GREENFOODS has developed a branch concept and several tools and resources for the European food and beverage SMEs to increase their energy efficiency and promote the use of renewable energy. This has been supported and complemented by energy audits, sector-specific trainings on energy efficiency and renewable energies, and the development of a tailor-made funding and financing system for the food and beverage industry SMEs.
The following main results have been achieved:
GREENFOODS Branch Concept: Tool for identification and evaluation of energy efficiency measures and the integration of renewable energy in the food and beverage industry
The user is guided to identify tailor-made solutions for “green production” for SMEs in the different subsectors in the food and beverage industry by combining technological expertise with knowledge on energy efficiency and renewable resources resulting in clear strategies for SMEs for process optimisation and energy supply towards a production without fossil carbon emissions.
GREENFOODS WikiWeb: Online compendium on unit operations, process technologies, energy supply, energy efficiency, renewable energy and best practice examples
Training Courses: Performance of detailed training and provision of training material on energy efficiency, specific tools directed to energy savings, the use of renewable energy and CO2 reduction in the food and beverage industry integrated as a sector-specific training module in existing energy management trainings such as the European Energy Manager as well as a stand-alone course. For more information on the training in Austria is available in German language.
Energy Audits: Results ofmore than 200 basic and 45 detailed energy audits focussing on and evaluating the potential of energy efficiency and renewable energy followed by 11 implementations of identified measures in the European food and beverage industry
Funding and Financing Schemes: Recommendations for a tailor-made funding and financing schemes for European food and beverage industry (focus SMEs) based on survey of existing schemes, demand of the SMEs and identified soft barriers of these