Large food and petfood manufacturer validating industrial drying, waste heat recovery, and plant-based ingredient technologies at production scale.
Mars GmbH is the German operating entity of Mars, Incorporated — one of the world's largest private food and pet nutrition manufacturers — with manufacturing operations in Verden, Lower Saxony. In the context of EU research, they participate as an industrial end-user and production-scale validation partner, bringing real manufacturing lines and market pull to applied research consortia. Their H2020 engagement addresses two specific industrial challenges: recovering waste heat from energy-intensive drying and sterilization processes (directly relevant to petfood and food ingredient production), and developing functional proteins and bioactives from plant sources such as rapeseed, olive, and tomato. They contribute manufacturing credibility, large-scale testing capacity, and a direct path to industrial adoption that academic or SME partners cannot replicate.
Participated in DryFiciency (2016–2021), an Innovation Action focused on recovering waste heat from industrial drying, dehydration, and sterilization operations at production scale.
DryFiciency keywords include high-temperature heat pump, mechanical vapour recompression, HFO-1336mzz-z refrigerant, and R718 — indicating direct engagement with advanced heat pump technology for industrial thermal processes.
Participated in Pro-Enrich (2018–2021, BBI-RIA), which targeted functional proteins and bioactive ingredients from rapeseed, olive, and tomato — directly applicable to food and petfood ingredient reformulation.
Both projects involve process or ingredient challenges central to large-scale food and petfood manufacturing, positioning Mars GmbH as a production-environment validation partner rather than a research originator.
In their first H2020 project (DryFiciency, 2016), Mars GmbH's focus was squarely on energy efficiency in manufacturing — recovering waste heat from drying and dehydration lines using advanced heat pump technologies including mechanical vapour recompression and next-generation refrigerants. By 2018, with Pro-Enrich, their engagement shifted toward ingredient innovation: sourcing functional proteins and bioactives from plant-side streams such as rapeseed, olive, and tomato. This progression from process engineering toward upstream ingredient R&D reflects a broadening strategic agenda — cost reduction through energy efficiency first, then sustainable ingredient sourcing.
Mars GmbH appears to be expanding from energy efficiency in manufacturing processes toward sustainable ingredient innovation — a trajectory consistent with large food companies repositioning around circular bioeconomy and plant-based product development.
Mars GmbH participates exclusively as a consortium partner, never as coordinator — a pattern typical of large industrial companies that contribute scale and market validation rather than project management. With 37 unique partners across 11 countries from just 2 projects, they clearly operate in large, multi-stakeholder Innovation Actions and Bio-based Industries consortia. This signals they are comfortable navigating complex multi-partner projects and are valued for their end-user manufacturing perspective and route to industrial deployment.
Despite only 2 projects, Mars GmbH has connected with 37 unique consortium partners across 11 countries — a notably broad network reflecting participation in large pan-European Innovation Actions and Bio-based Industries consortia. Their network spans the industrial energy technology, food processing equipment, and ingredient research communities.
Mars GmbH is a rare large industrial end-user in EU research consortia — they bring production-scale manufacturing facilities, real drying and processing lines, and direct market access that academic and SME partners cannot replicate. A consortium including Mars GmbH gains a credible large-scale validation environment and a potential first adopter for new technology, which significantly strengthens project impact narratives for evaluators. For technology developers in industrial heat pumps, drying systems, or food ingredient processing, Mars represents a direct path to industrial deployment at meaningful scale.
