- Hepworth Brewery is the first to use a heat pump to make beer
- It will cut emissions from wort boiling
- The heat pump was constructed by start-up, Futraheat
An independent brewery in West Sussex, Hepworth Brewery, has become the first in the UK to make its beer using a heat pump instead of an oil boiler in a bid to cut carbon emissions.
The brewery is expected to reduce its emissions that come from wort boiling, an essential step in beer-making to extract flavour, by using a high-temperature heat pump that can produce steam temperatures of up to 130C.
The heat pump was designed by a start-up based in south-west London, Futraheat, and is expected to lower fuel costs by 40%, with a goal to power the full brewing process.
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As reported by The Guardian, “the new heating system will recycle the waste vapour from the brewing process by using the heat pump to raise the temperature of the steam back to 130C before returning it to the brewer”.
Andy Hepworth, founder and chairman, Hepworth Brewery, said the government-based project would enable the company to switch off their boiler in favour of a new reliable way to recycle waste heat.
Tom Taylor, chief executive, Futraheat, said: “Heat is a major component of a huge range of industrial processes and vast amounts of this is delivered by steam.
“Until now, heat pumps have been both unaffordable and unable to deliver heat at the temperature the industry requires. This project demonstrates the technology can now be implemented within a brewery.”
