One month into the BEERco2 project, InoSens, DunavNET and Magnus Kraft Brewery are pleased to announce the successful launch of our new BEERco2 project, an experiment funded by KYKLOS 4.0. Together with other 6 funded experiments, BEERco2 aims to enhance Circular Manufacturing processes by using technologies such as Deep Learning and Cyber-Physical Systems.
In line with KYKLOS 4.0 objectives, BEERco2 will help small craft breweries in transitioning their production processes to a circular model that allows for on-demand and consumer-centric manufacturing. The BEERco2, an easy-to-implement and low-cost solution will enable automatic tracking of the craft beer manufacturing process and consumed resources, such as the materials, the recipe, and the “cook”.
What we have been doing during the first month?
On November 3rd, the Kick-Off meeting was held, officially commencing the KYKLOS4.0 financed experiments. During this online meeting, all experiments were presented, including BEERco2, where DNET presented our solution, which will be installed, verified, and demonstrated at ‘Magnus Kraft,’ a craft brewery in Novi Sad, Serbia, across three phases during the 6 months period (Phase 1. Planning, Phase 2. Implementation, Phase 3. Commercialisation & Business Sustainability).
1st BEERco2 project team meeting
On November 15, 2021, DunavNET, Magnus Kraft, and InoSens conducted their first consortium meeting. In addition to discussing internal administration and management procedures, team members had a fruitful discussion about the technical configuration of the BEERco2 solution that will be installed and tested at Magnus Kraft Brewery, as well as the steps required to reach the “ready to test/pilot” stage.
In particular, to achieve the project’s multi-level aim, the partners shared expertise about the production process and explored both technological and recipe improvements. Also, product quality insurance, production system setup, tracking parameters, water filtration systems, and storage facilities were all discussed. Partners agreed to meet at the Magnus Kraft Brewery to develop a thorough deployment strategy for the BEERco2 experiment.
Magnus Kraft brewery visit November 18th
As agreed at the project kick-off meeting, consortium partners visited the “Magnus Kraft” brewery facility on November 18th. The project team was able to see the manufacturing process first-hand and get some valuable insights into the technology and techniques utilized in the brewing of kraft beer. The basic rule is to adhere to the production process and recipes and to take care of hygiene because beer is a sensitive product in every step of its “maturing” to the product as we know it. Quality ingredients are essential for producing an excellent craft beer; preserving these components at optimal humidity levels and temperatures is also one of the bigger issues that the BEERco2 system intends to monitor and record.
During this visit, we discussed how the BEERco2 solution will enable a two-way engagement with customers, allowing them to not only acquire knowledge about the product life cycle of the beer bottle they are drinking, but also offer direct input on the beer itself in terms of quality, flavour, and overall taste.
We agreed that Magnus Kraft will get major help in this area in terms of enhancing the automatization of the production monitoring process, including regulating the usage and storage of raw materials required for the production process. For example, DunavNET will supply technological solutions for the monitoring of water consumption and its pH levels, the temperature in the production tanks, etc… Furthermore, during this visit, we discussed the next steps and the role of the InoSens team in future market strategies, communication, dissemination, and exploitation of experiment outcomes. With the kick-off meeting and brewing facility visit, BEERco2 consortium successfully completed task 1.1 “Reuse and integrate plan”.
BEERco2 presentation at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Belgrade
On the 24th of November, professor Dejan Drajic presented the BEERco2 project to students of the
Master’s studies program at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering on the “M2M Communications
systems” course. The students had the opportunity to learn about the project, technologies to be
developed and implemented, and innovations in the circular economy furthermore, they had the opportunity to get more information on the BEERco2 solution and its impact.
Dejan Drajic is an electrical engineer who holds a PhD from the University of Belgrade, with a special
interest in Telecommunications as a scientific area. He is an Associate professor at the Faculty of
Electrical Engineering, The Department of Telecommunications. At the BEERco2 project, he is a member
of the DunavNet engineering team and a Senior Researcher at DNET Labs.
Second consortium meeting 02.12.2021
The second meeting, which took place on December 2nd, the BEERco2 consortium invited a few external professionals from the local brewery industry to discuss the proposed and get feedback on the technical setup of the BEERco2 solution. As a result of the discussion, the BEERco2 consortium decided to deploy temperature probes and advanced cameras to turn all values gathered into digital data for subsequent use.
The full technical configuration of the BEERco2 solution will be turned into a report by 17th of December 2021 by DunavNet, thus marking the competition of Activity 1 Milestone and related KPIs.
The first stage of BEERco2 Project Development
As the project was ongoing, project partners realised a lot of activities to introduce the public to BEERco2 and its foundation. On the 24th of November, professor Dejan Drajic presented the BEERco2 project to students of the Master’s studies program at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering on the “M2M Communications systems” course.
Members of DunavNET and InoSens team have participated in Consortium meetings during December, coordinated by Kyklos 4.0. All Consortium members had the opportunity to discuss technical issues and aspects of the projects, exchange experiences, and further improvements in technical solutions of the projects.
DunavNET engineers had the opportunity to implement some of these ideas in its platform. On the 22nd of December, DunavNET team members have visited Magnus Kraft Brewery in Temerin. During this visit, they had set up a basic structure, and data collection has begun to be used for machine learning.
The BEERco2 Workshop 29th of December
BEERco2 Project partners ended the year by enabling users, technology providers, and industry to create innovative technology together under the framework of the BEERco2 experiment, funded under the Kyklos40Project. On the 29th of December, we have organized a Workshop in Novi Sad.
Participants of BEERco2s first focus group workshop had the opportunity to get in-depth knowledge about the impact of the BEERCo2 solution in the consumer-oriented production of craft beer! During this part of the Workshop all project partners’ representatives, from InoSens, DunavNET, and Magnus Kraft Brewery shared valuable information with the participants.
During our tasting session, the BEERco2 consortium gathered valuable data from participants that will be incorporated into the updates for the final batch experiment. We welcome the feedback we have received from our first focus group, and vastly expect our next project stage in 2022!
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 872570.