Digital twins for the optimization of agrifood value chain processes and the supply of quality biomass for bio-processing

The EU agri-food sector is at a crossroads.

The sector endures a string of crisis, suffering from losses and inefficiencies that affect the overall system efficiency, whilst the society expects always more to be done on environmental protection, and on providing secure, nutritional, and healthy food, demanding high added value products of sustainable production and verifiable traceability.

To tackle these challenges, BBTWINS will develop and validate two innovative digital twins in two use cases in Spain and Greece (meat and fruit production) following a multi-actor approach and integrating into a single platform all the processing steps (from crop to final products) and the valorisation of the bio-streams generated using innovative processing treatments.

The use cases will be addressed following a holistic approach including an environmental, social, and economic assessment, and logistic issues.

The digital twins developed will integrate enabling technologies such as artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, and software analytics, together with blockchain and strategic and operational logistic solutions in a single platform.

BBTWINS digital twins will: (i) increase biomass availability, resource efficiency and sustainability for the bio-based industry, (ii) lower biomass losses from feedstock supply through the processing stages of the value chain; and (iii) allow a longer storage time before processing through more efficient pre-treatment steps and storage methods to better preserve the valuable components.BBTWINS will validate at least 3 new products for the bio-based industry such as bioactive compounds for nutritional foods and nutraceutical products, fertilizers, protein concentrates for feed, and snacks.The BBTWINS multi-actor consortium is constituted by 3 RTOs, 7 SMEs, 1 Bioeconomy Cluster, 1 Large Enterprise, and 1 cooperative in 8 EU countries with the necessary knowledge and ambition to succeed in the digital revolution of the agrifood sector