What could be better in summer than ice cream with crispy waffles? Today, most of these waffles are still produced in gas-fired ovens - fossil energy is used and CO2 is emitted. But now Bühler Wafer Solution GmbH is launching a sustainable alternative with the world’s first industrial wafer oven with induction heating. Together with a research team from Vienna University of Technology, the temperature control for the induction heating was realized using modern control technology.
50% less energy - almost CO2-neutral
"Baking waffles with induction current instead of gas has many advantages," explains Andreas Steinböck from the Institute of Automation and Control Technology at TU Wien. "We only need electrical energy - and if this comes from renewable sources, the baking process is practically CO2-neutral. In addition, the heat is generated directly in the metal baking plates - this avoids heat transfer losses and makes temperature control extremely fast and precise."Thanks to this innovation, energy consumption can be reduced by up to 50% compared to conventional ovens.
Digital twin ensures optimum baking results
The heart of the new system is its intelligent control: a digital twin of the oven calculates the temperature distribution in the cyclically rotating baking plates in real time. This allows the plate temperatures to be individually controlled and quickly adapted to changing conditions.
"This technology enables consistently high wafer quality," says Andreas Steinböck. "At the same time, the production process becomes much more flexible - for example when changing recipes or after downtimes. This saves energy, reduces waiting times and increases productivity."
Sustainable wafer production with market maturity
The new oven has already reached market maturity and is set to give new impetus to the wafer industry - setting new standards in terms of both product quality and environmental sustainability.With this development, TU Wien and Bühler Wafer Solutions are demonstrating how modern control technology, digitalization and climate protection can be effectively combined - for wafers that taste good and are produced in an environmentally friendly way.
