Dive Brief:
- Heineken has partnered with Rondo Energy and EDP to implement a heat battery system powered by renewable energy at its brewery near Lisbon, Portugal, in an effort to decarbonize its operations.
- Rondo Energy and EDP will provide Heineken with a “heat-as-a-service” model to reduce carbon emissions without impacting the brewing process.
- EDP will install a 7 megawatt-peak solar plant at Heineken’s brewery, powering Rondo’s heat battery to supply zero-carbon steam for production processes.
Dive Insight:
In addition to solar power, the heat battery will also be charged with renewable electricity from the grid through a power purchase agreement between Heineken and EDP, providing 25 gigawatt-hours of clean energy annually.
The solar and thermal storage system is set to be operational at the Portugal brewery by April 2027, aiming to eliminate the brewery’s reliance on fossil fuel boilers.
This initiative is expected to make Heineken’s Portugal facility one of the most sustainable production centers globally, operating with clean, zero-emission steam.
Heineken aims to achieve net-zero emissions across its supply chain by 2040 and sees this project as a replicable model for other energy-intensive industries.