AB InBev reduces 2/3 of carbon emissions at the largest brewery in Western Europe
Reduced carbon emissions and improved energy efficiency at the AB InBev plant in Leuven, Belgium
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Reduction of carbon emissions by 7.000 metric tons CO2 per year
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Throughput of 12 million hectolitres per year
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New residual heat network
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Biogas from wastewater treatment as an energy source
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CEE owns the installation under ESCO contract
Net-zero brewing
Reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions has become a top priority among industrial organizations. Legislative pressure compels companies to act while increasing the complexity of sustainable industrial installations. Because of this, industrial organizations today decide to outsource the implementation of cleantech more frequently than before. This allows them to meet sustainability targets without losing sight of their core activities.
In this spirit, AB InBev and CEE agreed to collaborate in an "Energy as a Service" or ESCO partnership. The goal is to reduce carbon emissions, increase sustainability, and improve the energy efficiency of the Leuven plant. We have been working with AB InBev for years on smaller projects focussed on energy efficiency. This time, however, the scope complexity was much more significant:
A new lower-temperature residual heat network
Conversion of biogas from wastewater treatment and natural gas into heat and electricity
Reduction of the site's CO2 emissions by 2/3
"By 2040, AB InBev wants to achieve net zero across its entire value chain. This is not the only project through which we want to achieve that goal, but it accounts for two-thirds of the CO2 reduction in our brewery."
A circular approach to redesigning energy supply
By improving the production process energy efficiency and installing a new lower-temperature residual heat network, AB InBev's Leuven plant no longer depends on steam from their old steam grid. Energy supply stems from converting the site's natural gas and biogas from wastewater treatment into heat and electricity.
The plant's improvement in numbers
CEE's efforts translate into:
- 40,000 megawatt hours each year
- 16,000 megawatt hours of electricity
- 20,000 megawatt hours of useable heat
- CO2 emission reduction by 7,000 tons per year
- Fulfilling AB InBev's net zero ambitions by 2040
ESCO as a pathway to hands-free innovation
The ESCO partnership model is groundbreaking for AB InBev. By offering 'Energy as a Service,' CEE converts the biogas and natural gas supplied by AB InBev into usable electricity and heat, which it then delivers to the production lines. Contractually, the responsibility for engineering, financing, construction, and operation lies with CEE for fifteen years.
CEE financed, built, and owns the installation and is responsible for achieving the agreed quality and capacity levels. By avoiding direct investment, AB InBev achieves its sustainability targets without compromising on its core activity: brewing beer.
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