Elea Technology GmbH is the global leader in Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) systems for the food, beverage, and scientific industries. Using precisely controlled electrical pulses, PEF gently opens cell membranes.
This allows products to be processed more efficiently, valuable ingredients to be extracted, more effectively, and energy and water consumption to be significantly reduced—all without chemicals or thermal stress. Founded with the mission to make PEF commercially viable for processors of anysize, Elea has since installed more than 300 systems across over 25 countries.
Elea’s state-of-the-art PEF systems are used in applications such as snack production, juice extraction, fruit drying, and gentle preservation—transforming the way food is processed worldwide.
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Elea PEF Advantage: Innovation for Snacks, French Fries, Potato Chips, Air- & Freeze-Drying
PEF System Benefits in Potato Processing
Elea’s Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) systems are widely adopted across the global potato industry, delivering significant advantages for potato chip and French Fry production.
Benefits for Potato Chip Production (Batch & Continuous Lines):
- Smoother cutting and improved surface quality
- Reduced oil uptake
- Higher capacity & Reduced frying time in Batch Lines
- Improved texture and crispiness,Brighter, more appealing colour
- New cuts and shapes
- Reduced costs and improved sustainability through lower energy and water consumption
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Fry the perfect chip with Elea PEF
Benefits for French Fry Production
Process & Energy Efficiency
- Replacement of thermal preheater
- Instant start-up and shut-down
- Less starch in process water
- Smaller footprint
- Shorter blanching and frying times
- Lower ambient heat in the production environment
- Reduced costs and improved sustainability through lower energy and water consumption
Product Quality Improvements
- Gentle texture softening for optimized cutting
- Higher yield through reduced breakage
- Longer, more uniform fries
- Reduced oil uptake
- Smoother cutting surfaces
- Increased knife durability
- Possibility to develop new cuts and shapes (e.g. Lattice cut)
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PEF savings for French fries - Save oil, water and energy
- Benefits for Vegetable Chip Production
- New product possibilities enabled by more complex cuts and shapes
- Cunchier, crispier, brighter-coloured, and healthier chips
- Improved control over acrylamide formation
- Higher yield through reduced breakage
- Reduced costs and improved sustainability through lower energy and water consumption
- Increased knife durability
PiCon – AI PEF Optimisation
At Elea, continuous innovation is a guiding principle. The company is committed to developing new technologies that enhance both processing performance and outcomes for its customers. One of Elea’s newest developments is PiCon – an AI powered inline quality control and process optimization tool. Currently still under development, PiCon is designed to further improve the efficiency and precision of Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) treatment in potato and vegetable processing, ultimately supporting producers in achieving superior performance, consistency, and product quality.
While PEF technology has become a standard in food processing – particularly within the potato industry – ensuring consistently effective treatment and maintaining high-quality standards after processing remains a challenge. Many existing evaluation methods rely on sampling, making real-time and predictive process control difficult.
PiCon aims to overcome this challenge by combining Artificial Intelligence with acoustic signal analysis to assess PEF treatment effectiveness in real time.
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Elea's PiCon project
