Heineken to cut 60% of fossil gas consumption by 2023, introduces improved version of Green Grip carboard multipack can topper
SPAIN – Heineken’s US$19.7m project that will result in a self-consumption scheme enabling it to reduce fossil gas consumption by over 60% has officially kicked off and is set to be finalized in June 2023.
Energy solutions provider Engie Espana said it has started building a 30-MW concentrated solar power (CSP) plant in Seville, Spain.
Earlier this year, Engie Espana signed a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) contract with Heineken Espana to deliver the plant, which it will manage and maintain for 20 years.
The facility will be located on Heineken’s factory grounds in Seville where Engie will put up 43,000 square meters (462.848 sq ft) of mirrors.
The solar field will occupy some eight hectares (19.8 acres), equivalent to eight football pitches, Engie Espana said.
The installed system will also have storage in eight 100-cubic-meter (3,531 cu ft) tanks to allow for heat production for five to six hours at times when there is no solar radiation.
The facility will generate 28,700 MWh of thermal energy per year, and enable the beer maker to double the production capacity of superheated water for factory consumption, according to Engie Espana.
The investment is part of Heineken’s Spanish unit goal to achieve net-zero emission production by 2025, five years early than the parent group’s 2030 target.
Among other initiatives, the brewer procured solar PV power from a plant in southern Spain and is obtaining thermal energy from biomass for its factory in Jaen.
The project represents the first time in Spain that a thermal energy self-consumption setup is installed on a large scale in an industrial setting.
Improved Green Grip’ carboard multipack can topper bided to fight plastic pollution
Meanwhile, the Dutch multinational brewing company has launched an improved version of its ‘Green Grip’ carboard multipack can topper in a bid to fight plastic pollution.
After initially launching in August 2020, the topper replaced the need for single-use plastic rings which had previously proved to be extremely harmful to wildlife and the environment.
According to Heineken, its introduction has saved 336 tonnes of single-use plastic to date.
The new packaging has been trailed in selected Tesco stores as part of a test for its strength and stability as part of the wider £14m investment across all of the retailer’s UK sites.
The new version was found to be the “best-performing and easiest packaging method for both retail staff and consumers,” according to Heineken’s research.
“The business had delivered on our pledge to eliminate plastic can rings from our packaging, whilst ensuring retail staff and shoppers are still being offered the best-quality packaging,” Heineken UK head of sustainability Chelsey Wroe said.
A spokeswoman for Tesco said it was “proud to be working alongside brands like Heineken as we look for creative solutions to the problem of plastic waste.”
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