Brewing with the heat of the sun: Carlsberg Group has taken another step towards decarbonising its breweries around the world, through an agreement to install a pilot solar collector field at Olympic Brewery’s Sindos Site in Greece.

The pilot could pave the way towards Carlsberg Group’s target for zero carbon emissions from its breweries by 2030, as part of its “Together Towards Zero” programme. 

Technology partner, Absolicon, has developed the world’s most optically efficient concentrating solar thermal collector for heat and steam. The trough design is programmed to follow the sun, and a curved silver-coated mirror focuses the sun’s rays towards a solar collector tube. Pressurised hot water is circulated through the tube, generating steam for use in the brewery – an entirely renewable resource to replace natural gas. 

During the one-year pilot, to be installed in early 2022, Carlsberg and Absolicon will work together to understand the potential of the technology for breweries around the world. 

Brewing requires two types of energy – electricity and thermal energy. The thermal energy accounts for almost three quarters of total energy use. Across the Group, two thirds of Carlsberg’s electricity is already sourced from renewables, but the technology is not yet available at scale for thermal energy. That’s why this trial is exciting – a pilot of innovative technology to use renewable thermal energy from the sun to brew beer.