The new facility, which will be fully operational by September, will enable Tennent’s to capture and store the CO2 generated as a byproduct from the brewing fermentation process.
This CO2 will then be used to carbonate Tennent’s Lager, meaning the brewer will no longer have to source the CO2 for this from a third party. Tennent’s said this would also dramatically slash the greenhouse gas emissions generated from the 100,000km of journeys undertaken to deliver the CO2 each year.
Zero carbon
Tennent’s said the carbon capture facility would be the biggest in Scotland. It said it would repurpose more than 95% of the CO2 generated during fermentation for use in future brewing, annually eliminating the equivalent of the carbon emissions generated by 27,000 flights to London from Glasgow. The move supports Wellpark Brewery’s commitment to be net carbon zero by 2025.
Tennent’s joins the rapidly swelling ranks of food and drink manufacturers pledging to go carbon neutral.
Dairy processor Arla has set out to create the world’s largest climate database as part of its drive towards net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Meanwhile, at the end of last year, Britvic claimed a UK soft drinks industry first as it announced scientifically-approved climate change targets, designed to help prevent a global temperature rise of 1.5°C
This weekend (18 to 19 July) two 25 tonne tanks were lifted 60 metres above Wellpark Brewery’s silos by a 1,000 tonne crane as part of the carbon capture plans there. Further installation works will include the modification of 24 existing fermentation vessels. Significant groundwork has also been undertaken to support the tanks, which will each weigh 130 tonnes when full, the equivalent of just over 20 double decker buses.
Climate Change
The installation of the new facility is the latest in a multi-million-pound series of initiatives from Tennent’s to tackle climate change, supporting goals to be carbon neutral and only use energy from renewables by 2025.
The brewer has also promised to eradicate single-use plastic by 2022, has committed to local sourcing and waste management and opened a new anaerobic digestion plant last year.
“To be able to support the brewery’s CO2 needs using carbon dioxide that is produced by the fermentation process, improves our local environment in the east end of Glasgow and is a significant step in our goal to be carbon neutral by 2025,” said Martin Doogan, group engineering manager at C&C Group, Tennent’sparent company.
“As Scotland’s oldest business, we take our responsibility to look after our beautiful home very seriously which is why we’ve put sustainability at the heart of our entire operations, from our transport fleet, brewing and packaging to our international deliveries.”
