DIL Technology Day Brings Departments Together

How can we make the food supply of the future safer, more sustainable, and more resilient? This is a question that concerns the entire food industry. On June 9 and 10, experts from a wide range of disciplines gathered in Quakenbrück for the DIL Technology Day 2026 to exchange ideas.

“The future of our food systems will be shaped by technology,” emphasizes Dr. Volker Heinz, Director of the DIL (German Institute of Food Technology). Advances in biotechnology, automation, digitalization, and process engineering, he notes, will make it possible to rethink sustainability, food security, and competitiveness. And that is precisely why the event was used to strengthen the links between theory and practice. “Our mission at the DIL is to bring technologies from research into industrial application.”

More than 200 participants from over 100 institutions and companies—whether from Germany, Italy, or Denmark—came to Quakenbrück to engage in dialogue. The event featured expert presentations, exhibitions, demonstrations of equipment, and presentations by startups. The industry is on the move. And it certainly needs to be in order to master the challenges of the present and the future.

Dr. Volker Heinz is certain that achieving resilience in the food industry requires looking beyond one’s own horizons: The most effective innovations arise where science, digitalization, and industrial application work together along the entire value chain. “With modern process, biotechnology, and automation technologies, we are creating the conditions to use resources more efficiently, close loops, and sustainably strengthen the future viability of our food systems.”

Transfer was a key priority for the organizers at DIL. “That means: We bring people together. We translate research into practice. We listen. We test. We may even fail—but in a controlled way. And then we keep going,” explains Clemens Hollah of the DIL. He emphasizes that mutual exchange is particularly important. New achievements must find their way into practice; otherwise, they’re wasted. “An idea is only strong if it works under real-world conditions.”

After two days packed with diverse content, the organizers at DIL are pleased with the event. So it comes as no surprise that the date for the next DIL Technology Day was announced at the end of the event. Those interested can already mark June 13 and 14 on their calendars.