The journey towards CO2 independence is a testament to the industry’s resilience and adaptability. With a significant number of breweries already achieving self-sufficiency, the path ahead looks promising, explains Frederik Degn Dalum fro malum Beverage Equipment. 

Not too long ago, craft breweries flourished across the globe, driven by passion and creativity, leading to many new and innovative breweries opening.

However, in recent years, a shadow has loomed over this vibrant industry. Rising energy, raw material and labour costs plus CO2 shortages have become an ever-growing burden while consumers cut consumption due to inflation eroding their income.

This cocktail is threatening the very existence of these beloved establishments. From the historic breweries to the newer ones, some have been forced to shut their doors.

Yet, in the face of adversity, a new chapter is unfolding. Skilful brewers are turning inward, seeking ways to optimise efficiency, yield and invest in sustainable solutions. Solar panels, a popular choice, now adorn many brewery rooftops, capturing the sun’s energy to power the brewing process.

Another popular solution is CO2 recovery technology, once an unattainable dream for many small breweries, has finally become a reality within the last couple of years.

This breakthrough allows brewers to reclaim and reuse CO2 generated through the fermentation process, significantly reducing costs, supply issues and lessening their environmental impact.

At Dalum Beverage Equipment we’ve developed and deployed over 60 craft-scale CO2 recovery plants of varying capacities across the globe, with a significant number gracing the landscapes of the UK.

The first to adopt this technology in the UK was Ramsgate Brewery. As the plant began to hum with activity, it quickly became clear that this was not just a technological advancement, but a game-changer. The success of Ramsgate Brewery paved the way, and soon the plants established themselves as proven and state-of-the-art technology.

Breweries have embraced the chance to market their beverages as 100% organic by highlighting their use of naturally sourced CO2 from fermentation for carbonation etc. This recovered CO2, with its low oxygen content and its odourless, tasteless nature, is ideal even for carbonated water.

We guarantee food grade CO2 according to ISBT, but the oxygen content measured by customers using portable analysers e.g. Orbisphere, Haffmans or Anton Paar in random samples in the recovered CO2 ranges from 6 to15 ppb, a purity that surpasses the standard food grade CO2 supplied by conventional industrial gas companies.
This is possible among other measures due to the patented Dalum rectifying CO2 condenser. 

Eddie Gadd, the owner of The Ramsgate Brewery, puts it in his own words: “As it stands, we’re buying CO2 from the production of ammonia, which none of us knows anything about.

“We don’t know how they do it, we don’t know what’s in the gas, but we do know a lot about fermentation. We know what’s in there and we know it’s good because we put it inside ourselves, so if you look at the quality of CO2, not only are we letting this free source of it go into the atmosphere, it’s measurably better quality and it’s from a known source.”

For Dalum, recovering CO2 is about more than being environmentally friendly or avoiding eco-guilt. It’s also about crafting a closed-loop system that can dramatically cut or even eliminate reliance on external CO2, liberating breweries from the grip of major gas suppliers.

This innovative system offers a significant breakthrough. Remarkably, eighty percent of our brewery customers achieve complete self-sufficiency right from the start, with many examples like Stewart Brewing of Edinburgh, an early adopter of both Solar Electricity production and CO2 recovery.

They are now looking to integrate Liquid CO2 production as a valuable co product, by further investing in a Dalums Cylinder filler, to fill cylinders with their surplus CO2, and Cromarty Brewing having to often halt their recovery plant, due to their storage tank being full.

Yet, the remaining percent encounter unique hurdles, often due to their production of soft drinks or distinctive brewing culture.

After installing the first Dalum Micro CO2 Plant in October 2023 Founder Kim Dalum visited Cromarty Brewing in August 2024 for a follow up on the new model and it has been operating for almost one year without need for vendor service or replacement of any consumables.

At Cromarty Brewing, sustainability is a key ingredient in their operations. They’ve installed solar panels on their roof, generating an impressive 50% of the energy they consume. This has resulted in a favourable average cost of around 0.125p per kW, significantly enhancing their return on investment.

Witnessed by customers these CO2 plants consume well below 0.3 kW/ kg CO2 leaving Cromarty Brewing with a variable cost to produce 1kg of CO2 at about 0.04p to make it conservative. This compared to a previous cost at about 1.0 pound/kg.

Cromarty Brewing’s commitment to sustainability and efficiency not only sets them apart but also demonstrates the tangible benefits of investing in green technologies. 

In the brewing world, it’s more than well-established that alcohol and carbon dioxide are both by-products of yeast metabolising glucose.

Specifically, for every gram of alcohol produced, approximately 0.95 grams of CO2 is generated when brewing regular-strength beer, an almost perfect one-to-one ratio.

This combined with knowing the alc. w/w % and annual volume gives you the potential volume to recover.
We see yields from 50% to 75% and recommend calculation with 60% to be very conservative with the feasibility study. E.g. 10,000 hl/y with 6 v/v% results in a realistic CO2 recovery volume of 10,000*6*0.79*0.60 equals 28 tons CO2/year in a quick calculation.

The journey towards CO2 independence is a testament to the industry’s resilience and adaptability. With a significant number of breweries already achieving self-sufficiency, the path ahead looks promising.