Birra Peroni go for zero carbon production with concentrated solar heat from Absolicon
Starting in summer 2023 Birra Peroni, part of Asahi Group, is brewing with the heat of the sun through the commissioning of Absolicon solar thermal field at Bari production site in Italy. The pilot installation marks a key step towards the decarbonisation of the brewery and Asahi’s target to become carbon neutral within its breweries by 2030.
Case: Birra Peroni, Italy from Absolicon Solar Collector on Vimeo.
Zero carbon emissions by 2030
Birra Peroni is part of global brewer Asahi Group. The Bari plant in Italy is part of Asahi Europe & International that produces the beer Peroni and Peroni Nastro Azzurro as well as other well-known Asahi brands like Raffo, Wuhrer and Tourtel.
Absolicon is providing its patented solar collector Absolicon T160 and plant integration. Birra Peroni will then buy the solar heat produced through a heat purchase agreement to run the brewing processes.
The Absolicon T160 technology, with an operational temperature of up to 160°C heat and 8 bar steam, suits perfectly the thermal energy demand in the plant and secures energy independency of the brewery processes. The solar collector Absolicon T160 and plant integration provides Birra Peroni with solar heat to run the pasteurizer in the Bari brewery. The 400 kW solar thermal field will cover part of the brewery’s annual thermal energy demand. During sunnier summer months, the collectors will ramp up their solar thermal contribution to satisfy a larger part of the thermal energy demanded for the pasteurizer process.
One of Birra Peroni’s main sustainability targets is to achieve zero carbon emissions during the production process by 2030. Using solar energy for a wide range of brewery processing applications provides Birra Peroni the possibility of renewable heat at a constant energy price, enabling long term reductions in fuel costs and CO2 emissions.
The installation in the Bari plant is the first step to implementing solar heat in Birra Peroni production process as part of the solution of eliminating carbon emission in production. During a one year evaluation period the solar installation will provide first-hand experience on how Absolicon concentrating solar technology replace dependency on fossil fuels in Birra Peroni plants.
The evaluation period serves as basis to define the scope and detailed design for a potential bigger project, estimated at around 12 000 m2. Birra Peroni can at any time during the evaluation period proceed to order the bigger project to fast track its sustainability achievements.
Enrico Galasso, Managing Director of Birra Peroni: “In line with our long-term sustainability goals, we are committed to go zero emissions in our production by 2030. Sustainability performance in our Bari plant are already on the right track and thanks to the Absolicon technology we will take another big step closer towards our destination”
Joakim Byström, CEO Absolicon: “We at Absolicon aim to revolutionize the energy supply and envision a sustainable industry. Birra Peroni, as part of Asahi group, has high climate ambitions and we look forward to this first joint project and of Absolicon technology contributing to Birra Peroni reaching their goal in achieving zero carbon in their production.”
BIRRA PERONI s.r.l., is an Italian company with over 170 years of tradition of producing beer. Birra Peroni is part of the Asahi group, a large international group with a presence on 5 continents and in 90 markets. Asahi Europe and International, founded in 2016, is the European branch of Asahi Group Holdings.
Learn more about the details of this solar thermal installation by accessing the case-specific data sheet:
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