Toasting Belgium’s new brewery – for climate change solutions

Three decades ago, New Belgium Brewing Company introduced Coloradoans to its house beer. Its offerings have since expanded to 30 different flavors, with Fat Tire being the best known. The company operates in all 50 states. However, its fame goes beyond beer. It is also honored for its commitment to addressing climate change.

Currently, Ft. The Collins-based brewery is partnering with local neighbor AtmosZero, which works with industries to decarbonize their steam. It’s not easy, but it’s inevitable: unless we decarbonize industrial process heat, we won’t reach our 2050 carbon neutrality goals.

“Carbon reduction work is a story of innovation and is inherently full of stops and starts. New Belgium’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint means investing in emerging technology that doesn’t always have a clear bottom line, New Belgium CEO Sean Belongi told me. “Our pursuit of a sustainable business, while continuing to grow, means taking a leap of faith in new technology and working with partners that allow us to operate at the scale we need with lower carbon intensity. Let’s run it.”

According to the International Energy Agency, 29% of the electricity sector is decarbonizing. However, only 10% of industrial process heat does this. This is because there are not many business options. Industrial uses account for 26% of energy consumption worldwide. Steam produces 2.25 gigatonnes of CO2 annually, or 6% annually. Therefore, if industrial steam production were a country, it would be the fourth largest producer of steam after India (2.8 billion tons) and before Russia (1.65 billion tons).

Traditionally, industry burns gas to boil water to produce steam. Or it burns coal to heat the boiler, both of which use a lot of fuel and produce a lot of greenhouse gases. In New Belgium’s case, the steam used in its brewing operations accounts for 25 percent of its Scope 1 and 2 emissions, either from operating its operations or purchasing energy from others. If a clean energy source supplies steam, Atmos technologies can significantly impact greenhouse gas emissions.

To that end, a prototype AtmosZero boiler will be installed by the end of the year and is expected to meet 30-40 percent of the brewery’s steam needs. New Belgium will evaluate the results, and if it goes according to plan, the goal is to produce all of the brewery’s steam needs. AtmosZero said it’s easy to install — a prepackaged heat pump that pours in and shrinks to meet demand.

“The payback is less than three years, although it depends on how much customers pay for electricity,” AtmosZero CEO Addison Stark told me. We plan to reach gigawatt scale by the end of this decade – a move that will save companies hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Stark adds that for every unit of electricity input, it produces two units of heat. This is because the heat pump takes one unit of heat from the ambient air and combines it with the input of electricity into two units. To reduce CO2 emissions, the system ideally uses green electricity, but it can also use dirty grids and produce cleaner heat.

According to New Belgium Carbon Neutral Engineer Andy Collins, the AtmosZero heat pump design delivers steam at around 200°C – 392°F – using much less water, outside air and electricity than conventional electric boilers.

With a clean power source, AtmosZero can provide steam 24/7 without changing existing brewery infrastructure and without a carbon footprint, Collins says. The brewery is working with the Fort Collins utility company to ensure the grid runs almost entirely on clean electricity.

Within its four walls, New Belgium takes steps to reduce its climate impact and has become a zero-waste brewery. This includes installing solar panels and generating electricity from sewage. It also absorbs waste heat and uses it to generate electricity again. Its original brewery in Ft. Collins is LEED certified and has achieved the highest possible status for energy efficiency. At the same time, the company aims to provide 100% renewable electricity for all production facilities by 2030 through on-site installations and renewable electricity supply.

The brewery’s immediate focus is on its four boilers. If the experiment proves fruitful, the brewery will replace the remaining boilers and gradually replace the natural gas used to generate steam with renewable electricity.

“Our breweries are built for steam,” Walker Modick, director of environmental programs for New Belgium, told me. “There aren’t many answers, and we’re looking for partners who can push the envelope. Steam has a big impact on our range 1 and 2 releases.

New Belgium says its Fat Tire brand is already carbon neutral — a passion it plans to extend to its entire brewing operation. The company is currently focused on decarbonizing its steam, and if its strategy succeeds, it could serve as a model for other industrial companies.