The PLANET platform

The PLANET platform works on processing and adding value to plants. Its missions are to :

•  Participate in research programs
• Contribute to the development of methods and processes for the valorization of plant raw materials for various fields of application (food, biomaterials and bioenergy)
• Develop scientific collaborations with external partners;
• Support training courses and the sharing of knowledge.

The PLANET platform brings together a unique range of instrumented pilot equipment for studying and characterizing the main unit operations involved in plant processing. The equipment can be used for batch or continuous processing, on scales ranging from a few grams to tens of kilograms.

This approach makes it possible to optimize the use of natural resources (products and co-products, energy) and to study the impact of processes on their functional properties.

Activities in three areas

The platform's activities cover a number of different areas:

• Dry fractionation, separation and sorting of plant matter ;
• Structuring and hydro-thermal treatment of agro-composites (food and non-food);
• Characterization of granular and continuous media.

The PLANET platform brings its technical skills to bear on the study of the relationships between raw material structure, processes and the properties of the resulting materials.

The plant-based raw materials processed by the PLANET platform are diverse, including cereals, legumes, straw, wood, algae and bio-polymers.

Located on the La Gaillarde campus in Montpellier, UMR IATE's plant product processing platform is also an innovative training facility for students at the Institut Agro Montpellier.

Agri-food innovation competition, a challenge for Montpellier agro

Every year, agricultural science engineering master degree student take part in the ECOTROPHELIA competition. By designing and presenting the food products of tomorrow, they prepare and shape the future of the food industry. The PLANET platform supports the students and ECOTROPHELIA projects of the Institut Agro Montpellier by making experimental cooking accessible and by contributing its technological know-how.

• PAPILLON Sauces project (2022) - ECOTROPHELIA GOLD Award - ENTREPRENARIAT Award
• DEFIBRES project (2023) - ECOTROPHELIA SILVER Award - FRUIT & VEGETABLE Award