Brewing with the Greek sun: Absolicon solar thermal field commissioned at Olympic Brewery’s production site, part of Carlsberg Group

It takes almost three times as much thermal energy as electricity to produce Carlsberg Group’s beer. The end of March marks the start of brewing with the heat of the Greek sun at Olympic Brewery’s production site in Sindos, Salonika, Greece, through the commissioning of Absolicon solar thermal field. The pilot installation marks a key step towards the decarbonisation of the brewery, with potential to accelerate in total Carlsberg Group’s decarbonisation of all breweries by 2030 and its entire value chain by 2040.

Katerina Tsintsifa, Integrated Supply Chain Director of Olympic Brewery, stated: “We feel satisfied that this new technology provides us with the possibility for gradual reduction of CO2 emissions in brewing sector, that is why we actively support it. Our collaboration with Absolicon is a key step towards this direction, since the production of thermal energy brings us closer to our target for zero carbon footprint up to 2030”.

Absolicon’s T160 Solar Collectors harness solar thermal energy for heat and steam applications in industrial processes. In Olympic Brewery, solar collectors across a total area of 1900m2 will cover 2,2% of the brewery’s annual thermal energy demand. During sunnier summer months, the collectors will ramp up their solar thermal contribution to satisfy up to 5% of the total brewery’s thermal energy demand, which corresponds to 70% of the thermal energy demanded for the can pasteurizer process.

Beyond the possibility to supply renewable heat for the pasteurisation process - which is the focus of the current pilot project – Absolicon’s technology will also be tested to investigate its potential to provide renewable heat and steam for other industrial brewing applications, such as mashing, boiling, bottle washing, and clean-in-place (CIP) processes. In all cases, the technology could provide solar thermal energy as a direct and total substitute for natural gas, a non-renewable fossil fuel.

Dejan Beko, Managing Director of Olympic Brewery, mentioned: “There is optimism around the potential of this technology regarding the decarbonization of our breweries, both locally and abroad. Especially, in a sunny country like Greece, it’s in our hand to implement such practices, utilizing the renewable energy sources.”

Joakim Byström, CEO of Absolicon Solar Collector AB: “Breweries are making plans to decarbonize process heat, and now several reports show that in sunny regions, solar thermal collectors are the best way to generate renewable heat and steam. In collaboration with Carlsberg Group and Olympic Brewery, we show that brewing can be decarbonized using solar heat that provides a scalable, easy-to-integrate and secure energy source.”

Olympic Brewery part of Carlsberg Group

Olympic Brewery actively support the domestic beer market, through a wide portfolio that includes consumers’ favorite choices. 13 of Olympic Brewery brands are produced in Greece, in two privately owned sites, in Sindos, Salonica and in Ritsona, Evia. With more than 450 employees nationwide, Olympic Brewery operates a wide network of more than 1,000 wholesalers and 112,500 points of sale throughout the country.

Olympic Brewery is part of Carlsberg Group. Carlsberg Group is one of the world's leading brewery groups with more than 40,000 employees, operating in 150 markets worldwide. Carlsberg Group have more than 140 beer brands in its portfolio, which spans core beer brands, craft & speciality and alcohol-free brews.

Absolicon Solar Collector AB

Absolicon was established in 2005 as a research and development company in solar technology. Today, Absolicon is a publicly listed company with more than ten years of operational experience from all parts of the world. Absolicon specializes in providing tools for the transition from fossil fuels, providing a profitable, easy-to-install, and emission-free energy solution using solar thermal resources as well as complete robotic production lines for the solar collectors.

Based on almost 20 years of research and development, the Absolicon T160 is a state-of-the art solar collector with record-high performance. Absolicon T160 has a 76% optical efficiency and an operational temperature of up to 160 °C, supplying heat and steam to a wide spectrum of processes and industrial segments.