Brewing with the Greek sun
It takes almost three times as much thermal power as electricity for Carlsberg Group to produce its beer. For a one-year pilot with Absolicon, Carlsberg has installed Absolicon T160 Solar collectors to generate steam for use at its Olympic Brewery site in Sindos, Salonika. By using solar heating instead of natural gas, Carlsberg will be able to reduce its brewery CO2 emissions, contributing to their target of achieving ZERO carbon emissions at their breweries by 2030. Carlsberg has successfully tested the steam production from the collectors and the pilot was commissioned in the spring of 2023.
During sunnier summer months, the solar collectors will ramp up their solar thermal contribution to satisfy up to 70% of the energy demanded by the can pasteurizer (the process selected for the solar pilot) and 5% of the brewery’s total energy demand per day. The solar collector field occupies 1,900 m2 – roughly the size of seven tennis courts – and there is potential to extend it by up to six times that size to generate even more heat from the sun. Carlsberg is using the pilot in Greece to demonstrate the viability of the technology for other breweries across the Carlsberg Group and beyond.
Together Towards ZERO and Beyond (TTZAB)
In line with Carlsberg Group’s ambitious ESG programme, Together Towards ZERO and Beyond (TTZAB), the pilot arises from Carlsberg’s commitment to helping mitigate the effects of climate change through the incorporation of renewable energy in its production processes.
Carlsberg’s sustainability targets include ZERO carbon emissions at its breweries by 2030 and a net ZERO value chain by 2040. The Group envisions this pilot as an exciting example as to how brewers can reduce and eliminate dependence on fossil fuels. For more on TTZAB visit https://www.carlsberggroup.com/sustainability/our-esg-programme/.
Technical specifications
Together with Absolicon, Carlsberg will evaluate the potential of expanding the use of Absolicon’s patented solar thermal technology to more of Carlberg´s breweries around the world.
Brewers hold a significant advantage to replace fossil fuel consumption with renewable energy using Absolicon’s solar technology, being in a very heat-intensive industry with low-temperature applications dominating the energy demand.
Absolicon T160 Solar collector efficiently produces heat up to 160 °C and steam up to 8 bars for industrial processes, and solar heating can be implemented in multiple stages of the production chain. Absolicon’s technology concentrates sunlight to provide heat and steam for industrial brewing processes such as washing, boiling, mashing, pasteurization, and CIP.
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Other References
Learn how other leading beverage producers are benefiting from solar thermal energy in their production plants:
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