BrewDog invests £12m in bio-energy plant

BrewDog has commissioned a £12 million green gas plant at its headquarters in Ellon, Aberdeenshire, in a move to cut carbon emissions.

The new bio-energy plant will power the production of over 176 million pints of beer each year, which will mean 7,500 fewer tonnes of carbon emissions annually when the facility is running at full capacity.

At the plant, BrewDog will combine wastewater with spent yeast and hops from its brewing process to be ‘digested’ by bacteria to produce biomethane. The company plans to use the CO_₂ created by the digester to carbonate its beer in the next few years.

The anaerobic digester will enable the craft beer producer to recycle most of the 200 million litres of wastewater produced every year in its beer-making process and to generate bio-methane to power the brewery’s boilers.

Sarah Warman, BrewDog’s director of sustainability, commented: “We’re not just here to make great beer – we’re making great beer that doesn’t cost the earth. Our ambition is nothing short of making BrewDog beer the most planet-friendly beer on Earth, and we’ve taken giant strides towards that goal with our new bio-energy plant.”

She added: “Our number one sustainability goal is to reduce emissions and we want to lead the way for the entire brewing industry. We want all our teams to feel like the work they do supports our mission to protect the planet.”