Nestlé U.K. and Ireland has partnered with the U.K.’s new National Centre of Excellence for Food Engineering to improve the efficiency of its food production processes.
The Centre of Excellence at Sheffield Hallam University will receive more than £2.25 million ($3.4 million) for two Innovate U.K. programs with Nestlé and a third with Dext Heat Recovery.
The first project will look at the carbon footprint of the 40-meter long ovens used by Nestlé U.K. to manufacture KitKats to see how its waste heat recovery processes can be improved.
Researchers at Sheffield Hallam and engineering firm Spirax Sarco will work with Nestlé U.K. to develop a novel heat recovery solution designed to recover the input energy in a roasting process, increase energy efficiency and reduce energy costs.
This project aims to save the company up to 15 percent off its energy bills.
In the second project, engineers will work with Nestlé U.K., First Milk and Foss to reduce wastage in the raw milk supply chain by 3 percent.
Lead researcher Dr. Andrew Young explained: “The U.K. milk industry produces 6,800 million liters of liquid milk per annum, but up to 200 million liters of this creates waste in production processes because the levels of casein in the milk do not meet the needs of the end product.”
The third project is another one looking at waste heat recovery. The university will work with Dext Heat Recovery and William Jackson Food Group to recycle the wasted heat from industrial kitchens, cutting energy costs by up to 60 percent.
