100% biogas powered brewery developed by Carlsberg

Beer maker Carlsberg’s brewery in Falkenberg, Sweden, is now powered 100% by biogas and green electricity. The move has reduced the brewery’s carbon emissions from thermal energy and electricity to zero.

Earlier in 2017, the Carlsberg Group launched a new sustainability programme – Together Towards Zero. One of the four ambitions stated in the programme is to achieve zero carbon footprint by eliminating emissions from all breweries, as well as achieving a 30% reduction in the beer-in-hand carbon footprint by 2030.

To achieve these targets, Carlsberg Group breweries will use 100% renewable electricity and eliminate coal as a source of energy by 2022.

The Carlsberg Sverige brewery in Falkenberg has been been using green electricity for several years, with 26% of the thermal energy coming from biogas generated from the brewery’s own wastewater. The remaining 74% had come from natural gas, but this has now been converted to biogas in cooperation with energy supplier Orsted. Certificates ensure that the biogas supplied to the grid has replaced an equivalent amount of natural gas.

"For many, many years we have been working to create a more efficient brewery with as little impact on our environment as possible,” said Ted Akiskalos, managing director of Carlsberg Sverige.

“This is clear when looking at how much we have reduced our energy consumption over the years. It is motivating that we now take a big step forward and use solely carbon neutral energy sources".

 

Zero-carbon brewery

Through the Science-Based Targets initiative, Carlsberg Group has set an industry-leading 1.5 degree ambition compared to the Paris agreement’s based level 2 degree goal. The Carbon Trust has highlighted Carlsberg among only three major companies to have set and approved targets with this level of ambition.

“Our work with Carlsberg has explored the range of options they will need to adopt in the coming years to evolve to a zero carbon brewer,” said Tom Delay, chief executive, the Carbon Trust.

“This will include adoption of innovative energy efficiency technologie... as well as sourcing of renewable energy, such as biogas. Seeing this first Carlsberg brewery make this transition so soon is very encouraging and should be seen as a demonstration of how industries can embrace new technologies to mitigate climate change.”

 

Visit Bioenergy Insight's LinkedIn page to join the biomass, biogas and biopower conversation.