Institute of Agricultural Engineering Bornim

Tasks and Objectives

The ATB´s task is to create process-engineering bases for sustainable land-use management and to provide innovative technical solutions for industry. ATB scientists and engineers develop scientifically based processes and technical solutions for the production of high-grade foods and feeds, the production of renewable raw materials and to condition these to form intermediate and end products of defined quality, the generation of biogenic sources of energy and providing renewable energies in rural areas, for services for agriculture, in particular services for conserving cultivated and natural landscapes, and fot the treatment and use of biogenic residual materials.

The research takes place in six departments. It is realised in projects that are integrated within seven key areas of research.
By combining scientific and engineering findings, especially in the field of new technologies such as biotechnology and information technology, with economic and social science expertise, ATB aims to ensure that the newly developed processes and technical solutions are profitable for both manufacturers and users, at the same time ensuring environmental protection and sustainability.

The research work at ATB looks especially at the general situation in the New Federal States in the East of Germany and the transferability of results to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

Users of the research results include the scientific community, farmers and horticulturists, their upstream and downstream sectors, and here especially the manufacturers of agricultural machinery and technical plants. This information is also used by the trade, political decision-makers, as well as the local, state and federal government.

Perspectives and Visions

Agriculture needs innovations to ensure the competitiveness of farm production on the world market. It is not only the site-specific disadvantages encountered by farming in many regions of Germany that present a problem here, the many and varied laws and regulations, especially in the fields of consumer, animal and environmental protection, make it imperative to develop new ideas. This is attributable to a growing public interest in environmentally sound production methods that conserve natural resources.
In a global context, innovations are necessary to secure food supplies for the inhabitants of our earth. A population of eight billion is expected by the year 2025, but the worldwide reserves of agriculturally usable land are limited. Along with available farmland, other resources, such as water, are also in decline.

It must also be taken into account that "quantity" of produce is not the sole criterion. As global affluence increases, demands regarding quality are also growing.
In this connection, innovations are aimed not only at improving the genetic potential of crop plants and productive livestock, but also at optimising technologies and management systems that will in fact make it possible to exploit enhanced genetic potential.

This is an extreme challenge for all disciplines connected with agriculture, such as breeding and nutrition, economics and social science – and not least for agricultural engineering.

The ATB is meeting this challenge via the development of new technical solutions and procedures that cater to the demands for ecological production methods, while at the same time helping to keep German agriculture competitive by minimising costs and optimising the quality of products and services.

Today traditional approaches are revised in the ATB´s interdisciplinary research. Findings from the fields of information and biotechnology are used, and sensors are developed. Modelling and simulation techniques are applied and technology assessment methods are used, not least to ensure at an early stage that the processes are feasible.
In this complex process ATB scientists cooperate closely with farms, as well as their upstream and downstream branches of industry, especially with the agricultural machinery industry, and to a growing extent with firms in the fields of bio- and information technology.

Cooperation arrangements with research facilities and universities at national and international level expand the ATB´s sphere of competence, just as scientific competition with the best in the fields of agricultural and bio-systems engineering promotes the performance of our scientists.

Our research results include livestock management methods with minimised emissions that are in line with animal needs and at the same time more productive, or high-tech processes for precision farming that bring economic advantages, as well as reducing environmental pollution. Further developments aim at avoiding the spoilage of grain, feed, fruit and vegetables, as well as in bio-fuels. This not only reduces losses, but also largely avoids danger for consumers due to toxins. Methods of quality assurance in storage and transport, partly extending as far as product displays in the retail trade, aim at conserving value and achieving fair prices.

Research into the production and use of renewable raw materials and energy sources is not only justified on ecological grounds. It also creates the preconditions for additional sources of income for farmers. The same applies for processes developed at the ATB for the care of cultivated and natural landscapes. Effective processes for treating residual substances and wastewater, on the other hand, are primarily aimed at reducing costs. They also make it possible to return nutrients to operational or regional material cycles.
Our work aims to make a substantial contribution to the farm of the future that produces safe products demanded by the market, that provides high-quality services, that produces in an environmentally sound manner and in line with animal welfare – virtually "transparent production". The modern farm has thus become competitive, and presents a confident public image, using both contemporary management methods and progressive technologies.

Institute of Agricultural Engineering Bornim
Max-Eyth Allee 100
14469 Potsdam
Tel: +49 (0)331 / 56 99 - 0
Fax: +49 (0)331 / 56 99 - 849
E-Mail: atb@atb-potsdam.de

Press releases

Further Information: www.atb-potsdam.de/