ITENE, the technology center, is developing AI-based solutions to improve efficiency in the design and manufacture of flexible packaging for the food industry. Through the FLEXIA project, the aim is to anticipate material properties before production and optimize production conditions using digital prediction and monitoring tools. These advances will streamline the development of new packaging structures, reduce the need for experimental testing, and minimize production waste, while maintaining the performance required to ensure the protection and preservation of foods.
The FLEXIA project (IMIDSA/2026/20), running from July 2026 through December 2027, is supported by the Valencian Community’s Department of Industry, Tourism, Innovation and Commerce, via IVACE+i, and is funded by the European Union through the FEDER Program for the Valencian Community 2021-2027, within the European Platform for Strategic Technologies (STEP).
The food packaging sector faces the challenge of balancing properties such as mechanical strength, barrier performance, and sealability with growing demands for sustainability and recyclability. However, developing new structures requires numerous testing cycles and manufacturing adjustments, which increases costs and delays their market introduction.
Technological Approaches
To address these challenges, FLEXIA will pursue two complementary technological tracks: predicting the functional properties of packaging using artificial intelligence and intelligent monitoring of industrial processes to detect deviations and improve production efficiency.
To this end, ITENE will gather information on materials, multilayer structures, characterization tests, and manufacturing parameters, which will serve to train machine‑learning algorithms and develop predictive models capable of linking material features with the final performance of the packaging. Concurrently, it will incorporate industrial sensing technologies to monitor critical manufacturing variables, identify anomalous behaviors, and enable adjustments that reduce defects and material losses.
“One of the sector’s main challenges is translating the knowledge generated during materials development into real manufacturing conditions. With FLEXIA we want to harness the data available in industry to connect both stages and enable more informed decisions, so that companies can incorporate new packaging structures into their production lines with greater confidence,” explains Teresa Calvo, ITENE’s Head of Projects.
All developments will be integrated into a digital decision-support platform, which will be validated in pilot and industrial environments. The tool will be aimed primarily at manufacturers and converters of flexible packaging for food, facilitating the development of more efficient solutions tailored to the sector’s requirements for functionality, sustainability, and recyclability.
