The area deals with the carrying out of research projects and applied programs. This activity takes place in close contact with food manufacturers, plant builders, research institutes and universities. Most of these activities, tailored to meet the needs of companies, are confidential and often involve other areas of SSICA. In this context, pilot facilities make traditional and innovative equipment and plants – modular, capable of simulating lines and transformation processes – available to the food sector companies, both contributors and non-contributors.
In addition to the already consolidated technologies, ample space is dedicated to innovative processes such as high pressures, ohmic heating, radio frequencies, microwaves and membrane separation techniques. For this reason, a series of pilot plants for small productions are currently available for testing. The “factory” area tries to keep its equipment constantly updated by hosting or acquiring pilot plants with new technologies. To this end, in the pilot areas there are equipped spaces where plant builders can install their own equipment for testing or demonstration activities.