Kompania Piwowarska installs a cutting-edge heat pump system in the Poznań brewery

Kompania Piwowarska continues its efforts to reduce CO2 emissions by installing a cutting-edge energy recovery system based on heat pumps in another one of its breweries – Lech Browary Wielkopolski. Annually, natural gas consumption will decrease by 14%, reducing annual emissions by nearly 2,000 tons of CO2.

The dominant source of thermal energy in Kompania Piwowarska's breweries is the combustion of natural gas. This method is used by the beer producer at Tyskie Browary Książęce and Lech Browary Wielkopolski, among other facilities. Heat pumps are an efficient solution for heating and cooling, allowing for significant energy savings and consequently a reduction of natural gas consumption. Such a system uses waste heat sources, raising its temperature parameters, and transfers energy to technological processes, replacing the heat obtained from natural gas combustion.

Last year, the leader of the brewing industry in Poland installed heat pumps at Tyskie Browary Książęce. This year, similar pumps were installed in the second of its three breweries – Lech Browary Wielkopolski. The total investment cost for both locations amounts to PLN 25 million.

– The brewing process is energy-intensive, and a significant portion of this energy is thermal energy. At Lech Browary Wielkopolski, thermal energy in the form of steam is obtained in the boiler room by burning natural gas. Reducing emissions associated with obtaining this type of energy is a major challenge for us. Implementing solutions such as heat pumps allows for a significant reduction in natural gas consumption, by approximately 14% annually. This, in turn, contributes to reducing carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere by nearly 2,000 tons per year. The generated energy is used to heat water for central heating purposes and for the beer pasteurization process across the bottling lines – commented Łukasz Wiśniewski, Investment Manager at Kompania Piwowarska.

By investing in heat pump technology, Kompania Piwowarska demonstrates its commitment to the execution of the "Better Future 2030" strategy. This strategy aligns the company's business goals with its sustainability aspirations, placing them on an equal footing. One of the key environmental goals of the beer producer is to achieve carbon neutrality across its breweries by 2030, which means the company plans to balance its CO2 emissions through various reduction and compensation strategies. This is an ambitious goal, but investments in eco-friendly technology, such as heat pumps, can help achieve it while also providing business benefits through increased energy efficiency.