Sussex brewery to cut 90% of emissions with ‘pioneering’ heat pump

Neil Davidson

A SUSSEX-BASED brewery is set to cut its CO2 emissions by 90% using a “pioneering” steam-generating heat pump, said to be the first of its kind to be installed in the UK.

Heat pump developer Futraheat has supplied Hepworth Brewery, based in West Sussex, with its prototype Greensteam pump, which can operate at a temperature 60% higher than typical UK heat pumps.

The brewery will use the technology as a low-carbon heat source, swapping out a traditional oil boiler in the wort boiling process.

Record temperatures

High-pressure heat pumps installed in the UK typically deliver hot water at 80°C, which is sufficient for households, but not for brewing.

The steam for the wort boiling process, the key step in turning hops and grains into beer, needs to be at a temperature of around 100°C.

The Greensteam pump can boost the temperature of the steam using Futraheat’s compressor, called TurboClaw, by up to 60°C.

Futraheat’s prototype will take recycled vapour from the brewing process, usually released into the atmosphere, and deliver it back as steam.

Brewing sustainability

The heat pump is one in a series of sustainability efforts Hepworth Brewery has implemented in its brewing processes.

Aiming to make 85% of its processes carbon neutral by the end of next year, the company has also installed an anaerobic digester, which converts wastewater into biomethane. Hepworth expects to treat 7,800 m³ of wastewater using the digester.

The brewery anticipates that heat pump pilot could be upscaled site-wide to generate the heat for other stages of the brewing process, which includes the mashing and malting of grains.

Andy Hepworth, chairman of the brewery, said: “The high-temperature heat pump from Futraheat will help us cut costs and CO2 and is straightforward to integrate within our existing processes.”

He added: “If this technology were adopted across the whole brewing process, it would reduce our emissions significantly.”