VLB Brewing & Engineering Congress: Moving towards net zero

Groningen | The 108th VLB International Brewing & Engineering Congress took place under the motto “the Brewing industry is moving towards net zero – status and prospects”. This year, the VLB invited participants to Groningen in the Netherlands from 13–15 March for a specific reason: In addition to keynote talks on focus topics from the world of science, the supplier industry and a number of big breweries, the official opening of the first emission-free malthouse on Holland Malt’s premises in nearby Eemshaven on March 14, 2024, proved to be a very special highlight of the programme. But first things first...

Unlike in previous years, the technical sessions at the congress were dedicated to one topic only, namely the striving to cut emissions. This is an issue breweries can no longer ignore – not just for the protection of our climate but also because in the future consumers will gauge their decision to buy partly by the commitment companies make in this field. “This is why this is the right subject at the right time in the right place,” emphasised the chair of day one, Jens Hoffmann of the Warsteiner Brewery Haus Cramer Group.

The introduction to the matter on hand fell to Prof. Frank Behrendt, TU Berlin, who talked of the supply of energy as a challenge, where the first goal of every company must be to reduce its energy consumption. Only then could the focus be shifted to the use of climate-friendly processes. In any case, it is important to build up flexible energy generation and energy storage capacities, he continued, with great significance also attached to the interplay of many different, coordinated measures to avoid peak loads wherever possible and keep the energy requirement at a constant level. What makes things difficult, however, is that every company operates under different conditions, meaning that a business must always devise its own specific solution for ensuring an optimum energy supply. This point was constantly stressed in all talks held on both days of the congress.

Big brewery visions

The organisers of the VLB congress were able to persuade big breweries Heineken, Royal Grolsch, Carlsberg and Royal Swinkels Family Brewers plus Holland Malt to share some information on their various activities. Each of these major enterprises has introduced a number of measures and programmes to successfully help them advance on their road to net zero. Among the points revealed were the use of solar energy, spent grain and heat pumps at various Heineken facilities; the opportunities and benefits provided by cooperation with a neighbouring producer of green energy (Grolsch Brewery); technological research topics such as yeasts for drastically reduced fermentation times or new dry hopping methods at Carlsberg; or how Royal Swinkels is assessing its activities with the launch of its Swinkels Circularity Index, with the aim of improving year on year. Of course – this much was clear – these large corporations have other options at their disposal, other financial and HR capacities with which to define their sustainability targets and begin implementing the same. Nevertheless, these are examples of measures and procedures that may also be of interest to small and medium-sized businesses. For as already said, each brewery must find its own ideal solution to suit its specific circumstances.

Holland Malt turns off the gas

The grand opening of Holland Malt’s emission-free malthouse fitted perfectly into the context of the event. With a total of 400 guests, including those taking part in the VLB congress, a big celebration was held on site in Eemshaven after Holland Malt CEO Jos Jennissen symbolically turned off the gas valve, cutting the malthouse’s annual gas consumption of 18 million m3 and ca. 33,000 tons of carbon emissions down to zero. The heart of the new plant is an innovative heat pump system that is supplied with 100% sustainably produced energy by the nearby Oostzeedijk wind park.

Impressions of the 108th VLB International Brewing & Engineering Congress and the opening ceremony in Eemshaven can be found in our media library at https://brauwelt.com/en/media-ressources/image-galleries.