GEA has introduced the E-Bake G2, an electric industrial baking oven designed to deliver energy efficiency and process control. Developed to meet the demands of sustainable food manufacturing, the E-Bake G2 represents a step forward in the transition away from legacy, gas-based systems.

This second-generation oven is engineered to produce cookies (both soft and hard dough) and crackers, offering a compact footprint, advanced airflow design and modular flexibility. Its design is optimized for electric operation — no gas integration — enabling CO₂ emission reductions while achieving repeatable baking products.

Individually Controlled Baking Zones and a Baking Chamber

The oven has modular architecture, which allows each baking zone to be individually controlled. This enables manufacturers to tailor baking parameters to product requirements, improving energy usage and baking consistency.

The baking chamber has been redesigned with a reduced internal volume, which minimizes heat loss and positions heating elements closer to the product, improving thermal efficiency. The inclusion of micro-convection technology, featuring localized airflow systems, ensures heat distribution and reduces temperature gradients across the baking surface.

Thermal bridges — pathways through which heat can escape — have been minimized. Additionally, a new configuration of electric resistances supports targeted heat generation, contributing to a potential energy consumption reduction of up to 40% compared to the previous generation’s gas-fired model.

Heat Transfer Configurations

The E-Bake G2 is available in multiple heat-transfer zone configurations, including:

• RE (Radiant Electric)
• CVE (ConVective Electric)
• ConRad (Combined Radiant + Air Turbulence)
• RE + CVE (a hybrid, ultra-flexible configuration)
• Hybrid models (custom combinations)

These options enable manufacturers to configure baking lines based on process needs, thermal profiles and product types, offering thermal flexibility and reliability across modules.

Addressing Market Needs

“Our ‘Voice of the Customer’ research highlighted growing interest in sustainable baking solutions, particularly electric baking,” says Marco Girimondo, product manager at GEA. “However, customers face high operational costs due to energy tariffs and capital costs for plant infrastructure upgrades. The E-Bake G2 directly addresses these concerns by significantly lowering energy consumption and reducing both installed power and total cost of ownership compared to conventional electric ovens.”

Product Quality and Consistency

The oven delivers baking performance by replicating a small-scale airflow circuit within each module. This allows for micro-control of airflow and a heat flux directed toward the product surface. As a result, the system ensures consistent baking conditions in each zone, yielding repeatable results and measurable improvements in critical-to-quality (CTQ) parameters, such as texture, color and moisture content.

Accessibility and Maintenance

The design of the E-Bake G2 improves operational accessibility, with access doors along the baking chamber. The base configuration includes one access door per module, with an optional version providing up to three doors per module. The reduced distance between maintenance points, along with removable bottom plates in the baking chamber, facilitates cleaning and maintenance, thereby minimizing downtime.

Installation Time

The modular design of the oven enables plug-and-play installation. Each module is preassembled with its electric cabinet mounted on top, eliminating the need for on-site electrical wiring. This configuration can reduce installation time by up to 70%, based on an electric oven that is 90 m long with seven baking zones.

Machine Design

The E-Bake G2 features GEA’s new Kinetic Edge machine design, which provides a visually modern and functional aesthetic while supporting circular economy principles. The structural redesign uses 64% less iron in the frame and baking chamber, reduces the total number of components and is based on a standardized module that can be configured to order. These improvements result in a lighter oven system with reduced material usage and end-of-machine-life recyclability.