GEA UHT Indirect delivers efficient, gentle heating to preserve flavor, color, proteins, and nutritional value.
GEA UHT system indirect
GEA UHT Indirect ensures consistent, gentle heating for extended shelf life while maintaining product quality, stability, and energy-efficient performance.
GEA indirect UHT system
GEA indirect UHT plants provide the flexibility to process diverse liquid dairy and other product types, at a wide range of flow rates and process parameters. We believe that our indirect UHT plants can offer optimized flow conditions, matched by high efficiency. The GEA platform features a heat exchanger design that allows heat recovery of up to 90%, helping you to cut overall energy use and improve your environmental footprint, as well as reduce operating costs and give you confidence in product safety and consistency.
Indirect heating means that heat is transferred through metal, from the heat exchanger to the product. Typically, the product is heated to 135-150°C (275-302°F) for 4-6 seconds. Indirect heating can help to improve product safety and minimize contamination or microbiological risks.
Commonly used for products such as liquid dairy and juices, indirect heating systems may offer the most versatile and flexible UHT plant type for a wide range of products. Compared with direct heating UHT systems, indirect systems are more energy efficient as they enable better heat recovery.
Key Features
- Heat exchangers: Utilizes tubular heat exchangers. Enables efficient heat transfer from the heating medium to the product without direct contact.
- Energy recovery: Incorporates regenerative heat exchangers that recover heat from the sterilized product, which is used to preheat incoming products.
- Temperature control: Precise temperature control to achieve required sterilization levels (typically 135-150°C) while maintaining product quality.
- Homogenization integration: Often includes a homogenizer to ensure product consistency and stability.
- Flexibility: Suitable for a wide range of products, including low- to high-viscosity liquids, and options for customization to match specific product requirements.
Benefits
- Long shelf life: Produces sterile products that can be stored for long periods without refrigeration, reducing distribution costs and waste.
- Energy efficiency: High energy recovery rates reduce operating costs and so cut overall environmental impact, making the system relatively cost effective while helping to achieve sustainability goals.
- High throughput: Capable of continuous operation at high throughput (up to 50.000 l/h), to meet the demands of large-scale production.
- Versatility: Applicable to a variety of products, including dairy, beverages, sauces, and soups, providing flexibility for manufacturers.
- Lower maintenance: Little maintenance compared to direct system.
Related Products
GEA UHT system direct infusion
GEA UHT Infusion uses rapid steam heating to reduce heat load compared to indirect methods, preserving proteins, nutrients, flavor, and color for a fresher, more nutritious product.
GEA UHT system direct injection
GEA direct UHT cuts heat load vs. indirect methods, preserving proteins, nutrients, color, and flavor for better nutrition and fresher taste.
GEA UHT system indirect product-to-product
GEA UHT systems with product-to-product exchangers use the product itself for heat transfer, boosting efficiency over traditional indirect heating methods.
GEA UHT system pilot
Our modular pilot UHT plant is highly flexible and designed for small-scale aseptic processing.
GEA Insights
GEA reports profitable growth for 2025 and expects accelerated revenue growth
GEA’s past fiscal year was one of significant growth and further profitability gains. In particular, the technology group substantially increased order intake, with all divisions contributing here. GEA also made progress in all Mission 30 strategic growth areas. In addition, GEA met key interim targets under its climate plan ahead of schedule. Major milestones in fiscal year 2025 were admission to the DAX index, the award of one of the largest contracts in the company’s history, and streamlining of the corporate structure.
How SmartParc is rewriting the rules of food production
Thanks to a new SmartParc manufacturing site, food processors in the U.K. are cutting their running costs and emissions. With GEA heating and cooling technology at its core, this collaborative production model demonstrates how innovation is accelerating the industry’s net-zero ambitions.
The food science playground
“Brewing eggs is like brewing beer.” It’s the kind of comparison that makes you smile – and then it clicks: Something complex suddenly feels simple. Through this personal film, set in the agricultural heartland of the U.S., we explore precision fermentation and the real-world work it takes to turn an idea into food.
