The world’s northernmost brewery will sequester carbon in its own facility to make beverage production more environmentally friendly.
Beer Manger: Mack Ølbryggeri CEO Roger Carlsen will spend ten million kronor trying to capture CO2 from beer production.
There are technology solutions that allow us to capture carbon dioxide and then clean it up before using it again in soft drinks, sides and other beverages, says Roger Carlsen, CEO of Mack Ølbryggeri.
During beer fermentation, a great deal of carbon dioxide is also produced as a by-product, which is usually emitted through the roof. Mac will now use this in the soft drinks they produce in the brewery.
Mack, the northernmost brewery in the world, is located in Balsfjord and produces soft drinks, mineral water, and sides in addition to beer.
Carbon capture will lead the way to more sustainable beverage production.
We want to move towards becoming CO2 neutral in the future. We must take this step by step, and this action will be an important investment to make that happen, he says.
Beer: To make carbon sequestration possible at the company’s headquarters in Ballsfjord, Mac has received support from grocery giant Norgesgruppen.
Immediate effect on emissions
Mac buys several tons of carbon dioxide a year, which they use in the production of soft drinks. This will now release.
All the carbon dioxide we produce while brewing beer will be more than enough to cover the need for the other drinks we make. In addition, we use CO₂ to cool beer tanks, says Karlsen.
In 2022, they expect CO2 consumption to reach nearly 1,000 tons. They’re going to collect large portions of this by sequestering their own carbon.
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He doesn’t yet have exact numbers on how much emissions they will save in a year, but he says it will be about “large amounts”.
This innovation will have an immediate impact on our emissions. It’s also a good idea for the consumer to get sustainable bubbles in the glass, says Carlsen.
– Innovative and exciting
Karlsen says the brewery has had the project in mind for a long time already, but the economy has prevented them from implementing it.
The carbon sequestration project will cost them just under ten million kronor in investment and implementation.
External support was crucial to be able to implement the project.
So Mac applied for financial support from Norgesgruppen’s Sustainability Fund. The application was awarded to them, and all funds were used to invest in carbon capture.
The fund aims to help companies that ensure sustainable development in several parts of the food value chain, such as investing in greener production. One of the main objectives of the fund is to increase the number of sustainability projects in the future.
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Signe Bunkholt Sæter, Director of Sustainability at Norgesgruppen, says it is important for them to support projects that will lead to greener production of food and beverages.
It is important that the entire value chain of food and business in general reduce emissions. At Norgesgruppen, we’re working like so many others to cut as much emissions as possible and become climate-neutral by 2030, she says.
Signe Bukholt Sæter, Director of Sustainability at Norgesgruppen.
She describes Project MAC as innovative and exciting.
The carbon capture project is innovative, because they will test a technology that – if successful – will reduce carbon dioxide emissions and make the products that many associate with beer and mineral water, more environmentally friendly to produce.
“I hope at least other breweries will be inspired by the project if it turns out to have a good impact,” she adds.
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