Reuse of 100% of our waste
Reducing CO2 & energy consumption
Susan Ladrak
"Our ambition is a CO2 neutral brewery by 2025."
Reducing CO2 & energy consumption
We are proud of the great results we manage to achieve every year in terms of reducing our energy consumption. It is our ambition to be an entirely carbon-neutral brewery by 2025, in which all energy we use is generated in a sustainable manner.
Objective
Continued improvement in filling line efficiency.
Result
Many projects were postponed due to COVID-19. Because of this, the results of 2020 were not realised.
Objective
Optimising the degassed water system in production.
Result
Optimisation of the production of degassed water, resulting in thermal energy savings.
Objective
Optimising boiler efficiency.
Result
Heat loss reduction through the use of insulation and reduction of standby power in the heating system.
Objective
Optimising large pumps in Brewing.
Result
Optimisation of the 85-degree water pumps, resulting in the realisation of electricity savings.
Objective
Optimising the reuse of residual heat from wort cooling process.
Result
In 2020, we fully engaged the 3-phase wort cooling installation, which allowed us to save more than the government requirement of 4800 GJ. As a result, the requirements of the MEE addendum were met.
Objective
Continued development of the energy transition plan.
A successful test was performed for activated carbon adsorption. Detailed designs were drafted for the energy transition projects 2020-2022: sustainable heat supply from Twence, Biogas upgrade and full-scale design for activated carbon adsorption. Permit applications were prepared and, in part, submitted. A contract was signed with Twence for sustainable heat supply to Grolsch in March 2020.
Objective
Study on heat pumps.
Result
Completed and now available as input for the steps we intend to take in 2023-2024 as part of the energy transition.
Objective
Rolling out a sustainability programme in production departments with various improvement initiatives to achieve greater energy reduction.
Implemented to the furthest possible extent. Due to COVID-19, the realised results failed to meet expectations. Due to delays in project implementation, the results are not in line with the original plan.
Starting 1-1-2020, we have used 100% green energy (Dutch Wind), resulting in significant reductions in the CO2 emissions of the brewery.
We have reduced the flow of solid particles to the wastewater treatment facilities, increasing the efficiency and leading to increased biogas production. This resulted in an increase of 7% compared to 2019.
OBJECTIVES 2021
- Improving effiency of filling lines
- Optimising tunnel pasteurisers
- Improvements to reduce energy consumption in production departments
- Installing new dryer in filter cellar
- Optimising cooling system
- Implementing projects from energy transition plan
- Reducing natural gas consumption by replacing palletcover machine
- Optimising boiler effi ciency; reducing residual energy consumption
Susan Ladrak, Engineering Manager - Royal Grolsch
“We reduce our brewery’s overall carbon emissions every year, but there is still a lot we have to do if we want to be 90% climate neutral by 2050, as is stipulated by the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. Governments and companies committed themselves to these objectives, and that includes Grolsch! We are currently working on various scenarios to help us achieve our ambition: becoming a sustainable brewery. We are investigating several alternative energy sources and seek to initiate partnerships within the region. Our ambition is to be an entirely carbon-neutral brewery by 2025. Simulteously, we are keeping an eye on operational costs and the availability of energy in the future. We believe we are responsible for contributing to a better, greener and circular world."
Activities
Smart combinations save 200 tons of CO2 per year in transport
Sustainable heat from Twence
100% green energy
Increased biogas production
By installing a decanter (centrifuge), we reduced the amount of solids in the wastewater. This allows the wastewater treament plant to operate more efficiently, producing over 32,000 Nm3 of additional biogas in 2020 compared to 2019, This is enough to supply about 25 households with gas for an entire year.
Sustainable thinking
Various initiatives have been set in motion within our production departments to ensure that a sustainable way of thinking is or becomes the standard with all colleagues. One example is the daily discussing of water and energy reduction at filling line/area level, so that deviations can be spotted more quickly and actions can be taken to solve the problem quickly. There is also a weekly consultation between our sustainability engineers and our operators to further develop and implement ideas and initiatives from the teams, resulting in the realization of sustainable savings. Brainstorming sessions have in addition been held with all operators, technicians and team leaders from packaging, in order to arrive at a good reduction plan for 2021 (and beyond).
Electricity savings for the brewery with sun-resistant foil
At the brewery, a sun-resistant foil is applied to the windows of the filtration area. This foil blocks up to around 60% of the sun's heat radiation. The filtration area is a room that is cooled to 12 degrees to, among other things, prevent the growth of microbiology. The sun-resistant foil decreases the amount of heat radiation that enters the filtration area, thus decreasing the amount of energy required to cool the space. Because we generate this energy ourselves with electricity, the foil provides electricity savings for the brewery of approximately 30,000 kWh per year. This is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of over 20 households.
Using a heat camera, the difference between a window that has not yet been covered with sun-resistant foil and a window that has been covered with sun-resistant foil has been measured. This measurement showed great results even on a cloudy day. The heat camera showed that, on the inside of the filtration area, a window without foil has a temperature of 19.4 degrees. A window with sun-resistant foil has a temperature of 16.0 degrees. The temperature difference between the glass and the filtration area itself is approximately halved by applying the sun-resistant foil - in cloudy weather.
Energy Transition Plan
It is our ambition to be an entirely carbon-neutral brewery by 2025, in which all energy we use is generated in a sustainable manner. To this end, we will continue to reduce energy consumption and increase biogas production. In addition, we are working towards replacing fossil fuels with sustainable, carbon-neutral energy sources. This led us to switch to sustainably generated electricity on 1 January 2020, for instance. This move alone is set to reduce carbon emissions by approximately 50%.
In order to become entirely carbon neutral, all energy used must be generated in a sustainable manner. We have drawn up a roadmap for this purpose and are currently working hard to put the first steps into practice. We want to be able to fulfil approximately 2/3 of our heat requirement sustainably by 2023, by means of the following projects: Biogas Optimisation, Test for replacement incinerator, and Sustainable heat supply from Twence.
Paris climate agreement
In order to meet the requirements set by the Paris climate agreement, we will have to save 9PJ of energy in the Netherlands. To achieve this, the government has made agreements with various companies (known as the MEE Addendum). In the context of these agreements, Grolsch has promised to save approximately 1.5% more energy from 2017 – 2020. The heat recovery system linked to the wort cooling system was installed and put into operation in 2019. Savings will be visible in 2020.
