Elea installed the first industrial-scale PEF system in 2012, but the development of the technology stretches back to the 1960’s.
1960’s. Heinz Doevenspeck
Heinz Doevenspeck published the first reports on Pulsed Electric Fields in the 1960s. He reported on the cell disruption effect and suggested its use to improve mass transfer processes, such as separation and drying, as well as the induction of microbial inactivation without a substantial amount of heating.
1980’s. Thyssen Krupp
Thyssen Krupp followed up the work of Doevenspeck in the 1980s when a group including Heinz Doevenspeck and Werner Sitzmann installed the first industrial-scale systems in the fish meal industry. Goals were set high, but unfortunately, the power-switching technology was not sufficiently developed enough.
1990’s. Global development
In the early 1990s, there were a number of PEF research projects in the EU and the US. At the Berlin University of Technology (TUB) the possibility to induce plant cell permeabilization and to inactivate microorganisms was investigated by a group led by Dietrich Knorr.
In the US, researchers at Ohio State University (workgroup around Howard Zhang) and Washington State University (Gustavo Barbosa´s work group) focused on microbial decontamination of liquid products. A number of lab and pilot scale systems for treatment of liquid, semi-solid and solid treatment in batch and continuous modes have been developed at that time.
The images show PEF Pilot halls at TUB and at Thyssen Krupp.
1997-1999. PEF meets potato
The first papers on potato treatment have been published by Angersbach et al. (1997). He suggested the use of PEF to accelerate the drying of potato cubes as well as to improve starch extraction.
In 1997 the research group of Dietrich Knorr at TUB and a large-scale German starch processor started a BMBF Project, where pilot-scale equipment for potato processing was developed. Very similar results have been reported by Rastogi et al. (1999) for carrot tissue as well as the treatment of sugar beet (Esthiaghi and Knor 1999).
In 1998 technical scale systems were developed for continuous PEF treatment of whole potatoes in the potato starch industry at TUB. Early designs used gravity as a transport means, but very fast it has become obvious that forced product transport is required and water wheel and conveyor belt systems have been tested in 1999. Making use of horizontal or vertical electrode configuration treatment belts has shown high process performance, reliability as well as cleanability.
2006-2012. Industrial scale prototype
Based on the promising results at TUB, a team of engineers and scientists, including Dr.- Ing. Volker Heinz and Prof. Dr. Stefan Toepfl, started the development of turn-key, industrial PEF systems at the German Institute of Food Technologies (DIL e.V.) and in 2006 an industrial scale prototype was installed for French Fries processing.
The process has subsequently gained interest from a number of potato processors. In a joint project with Wernsing Feinkost GmbH, an industrial-scale unit was developed in 2010 and then installed in 2012. Today that system is still currently operational (2025).
In 2009 Elea’s current MD Prof. Dr. Stefan Toepfl won the Georg Hahn prize for his doctoral thesis on PEF.
The beginning of Elea
The hard work paid off. By 2012, three more PEF units were installed at Wernsing production sites in Germany and Denmark. Around the same time, a spin-off entity secured a license agreement for the production and distribution of PEF systems developed at DIL. Under Nick Speakman’s leadership, Elea began assembling its own team of experts in engineering, R&D, and sales. That same year, Elea was officially founded.
In 2016, Elea relocated to a purpose-built facility just opposite the DIL headquarters. The new building featured a dedicated office space and a spacious pilot hall, fully equipped with state-of-the-art technology, including an Elea PEF Pilot trial system. This setup enabled comprehensive industrial process simulations, including frying, cutting, drying, and thermal vs. PEF processing comparisons. Over the following years, Elea continued to grow, both in business and as a company.
2017 marked a significant period of expansion. Elea strengthened its presence in North America by establishing a dedicated distributor, Food Physics. This growth was further reinforced by the appointment of Professor Dr.-Ing. Stefan Toepfl as Elea’s new Managing Director, bringing fresh leadership and strategic direction to the company.
2012. PEF Juice for Hoogesteger
In 2012, the first industrial Elea PEF system for liquids was installed at Hoogesteger in the Netherlands to extend the shelf life of fresh juices and smoothies. They call their PEF process FMP: fresh micro pulse.
2017. 50 Elea PEF systems installed worldwide
By 2017 the world was starting to wake up to the potential that PEF brings to the food and beverage industry. Elea now had more than 50 installations, both belt and pipe systems, installed all over the globe.
2018. The world’s first all-in-one compact PEF belt system
In 2018, a PEF sustainability study with accurate data from our potato industry partners was released. The study demonstrated that by replacing conventional preheaters with PEF equipment, the energy requirements and water consumption can be hugely reduced by up to 90 %, followed by many additional benefits. (McHugh and Toepfl, 2016, Fauster et al., 2018).
2019. Welcoming the world to Elea
To present PEF benefits to a broader audience, Elea devised its own PEF demonstration event. The first Elea PEF Advantage Days took place in Nov 2019 in our headquarters with PEF workshops and live demos. Leading international PEF experts provided lectures and insights, and our guests visited a running industrial PEF system at a nearby client. The Elea PEF Advantage Day is now a regular event in the Elea calendar.
2020. PEF Pilot Dual
The Elea PEF Pilot Dual is the first modular PEF system to process liquid and solid foods.
Comprising of a core unit (designed primarily for pilot scale testing), the system is customisable with the addition of external plug-in units. These units are designed to service specific applications and increase the PEF Pilot’s processing capacity.
PEFinars – Elea’s application targeted live webinars
In 2021 and 2022, during the COVID pandemic, we kept in contact with our potential clients by developing online PEFinars: webinars with live demonstrations of PEF treatments on applications like French fries, chips, fruits, vegetables and more. Some of the PEFinars were available in English, Russian, and Spanish.
2022. Elea at 10 years
In 2022, Elea celebrated its 10th anniversary. A lot has happened in the past few years. Back in 2012, the company started as a start-up with three employees, today it employs 30 professionals in different departments. Elea Technology has sold and installed around 250 systems worldwide and has become the leading technology supplier with a network of regional representatives and technology partners. The largest systems can process up to 100 tonnes of solids or 5000 litres of liquid per hour.
Development of new PEF applications and equipment is ongoing. So stay tuned.
2022. The New Elea PEF Advantage B 1000-850
Elea introduces its new B1000-850 system design, the highest capacity belt system to date. With all safety features included in the belt vessel, the design enables processing of up to 100 t/h with a compact, easy-to-install footprint.
In addition to the B1000-850, Elea presented the new B100-535 system design and promoted upgrades on the B1 design, the PEF Pilot range and new process control options.
2023. Extracting more from grapes and olives
Elea’s P1 PEF extraction system gained more interest in the wine and olive oil industry. We organised olive oil trials in Greece, Spain, Tunisia and Italy and wine processing in Spain, Italy, and the United States -with each trial yielding exciting results.
2024. The new B micro
Introducing the brand new Elea PEF Advantage B Micro, a new PEF solution for smaller production lines. The compact and all-in-one B Micro easily fits into any production setup, is easy to maintain and simple to operate.
