DGS leading the B4HOPeS project: hop traceability, blockchain and social inclusion

The B4HOPeS project, led by DGS in cooperation with other Consortium partners, aims to implement an innovative hop traceability system using blockchain technology. With a view to social inclusion, the project involves inmates in cultivation, enabling the registration of every stage of the supply chain, from production to the sale of the beer.

DGS is the lead partner of B4HOPeS (Blockchain solution for tracking HOP production and communicating Social impact in a beer social agrifood production), a project to create an integrated traceability and certification system for the hop supply chain, based on blockchain technology. B4HOPeS aims to monitor and record, in a transparent and unchangeable way, the various stages of the hop supply chain, starting from the cultivation and harvesting of the raw material, to the production and sale of the beer, passing through the processing and processing of the hops themselves

The innovative element of the project concerns the social aspect of the supply chain. More precisely, in the procurement phase, the amount of hops will be grown and harvested by inmates of the Alexandria prison. The data collected in this phase will be tracked through a blockchain platform, which, by also recording all subsequent processing steps, will make it possible to tell the final consumers a story of inclusion and social impact (social farming). In addition, as part of the project, a new pilot plant will be tested at the Trunasse Brewery, which will produce a new recipe designed to improve the sensory/sensorial characteristics of the finished product.

DGS, in particular, is participating in the project by providing technological know-how and experience for the definition and development of a blockchain infrastructure applied to the reference context and all related components (consensus algorithms, smart contracts, data collection interfaces, etc.).

The project, which started on 18 December 2023 and will last 18 months, is being implemented in partnership with Zoe Di Lerda Roberto e Lerda Paolo Snc (Pi) e Idee In Fuga Scs (PI). The Consortium is advised by the University of Gastronomic Sciences (UNISG).

The Kick-off Meeting of the project, to present the first activities to the partners, was held on 10 January 2024 in virtual mode.

The project falls under the NODES ‘Digital And Sustainable North West’ initiative, specifically within spoke 7 ‘Secondary Agro-industry’.