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High-Temperature Storage Warm Beer: How Heineken Brews "Green Beer" with Heat Storage

From Michael Richter | Translated by AI 2 min Reading Time

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Heineken will heat its beer with solar power instead of gas in the future, thanks to a heat storage system that converts excess energy into heat. What sounds like a brewery experiment could become an alternative to battery storage.

The storage technology enables steam to be quickly provided for processes. Alternatively, the steam can be converted back into electricity through turbines.(Image: Rondo Energy, Inc.)
The storage technology enables steam to be quickly provided for processes. Alternatively, the steam can be converted back into electricity through turbines.
(Image: Rondo Energy, Inc.)

Heineken is testing an electro-thermal storage system in Portugal together with Rondo Energy and the utility company EDP, which converts excess green electricity into high-temperature heat. The system heats a robust storage material to up to 1,500 °C (~2,732 °F). The material then retains the energy and releases it as steam for the brewing process when needed. This enables around-the-clock process steam without using fossil fuels.

The approach sounds like a return of night storage heaters but shows the change in heat supply. Heat storage systems are becoming the most robust and cost-effective solution. While heat pumps excel in buildings and medium temperatures, they falter in industrial processes, especially when steam over 150 to 200 °C (~302 to 392 °F) is needed or production runs flexibly.

In Heineken's case, this specifically means around 100 MWh of storage capacity to supply steam-based processes in the brewing operation with renewable energy.

Technology

Thermal storage systems excel particularly in process heat. They are charged independently of the timing, store it cost-effectively, and release the heat exactly when needed. They are ideal for businesses with their own solar power or frequent grid peaks. While heat pumps remain more efficient, they lose significant effectiveness as the target temperature rises. In breweries, metalworks, ceramics, or food production, a large storage solution is often the more practical choice.

Of course, thermal storage systems are not a miracle solution. Depending on the material, heat losses cannot be completely avoided. Many systems are hardly suitable for seasonal storage periods. At the same time, alternatives are catching up. High-temperature heat pumps are steadily reaching new temperature levels. Thermochemical storage promises high energy densities with minimal losses, but they are not yet market-ready. And hybrid solutions – battery plus heat pump plus storage – are gaining importance because they can adapt to any load profile.

But what the Heineken project clearly shows is that the industry must and wants to move away from gas for cost reasons and towards flexible, renewable heat. Heat pumps remain cornerstones of the energy transition. However, heat storage systems are moving into areas where high temperatures matter. They not only make beer warm but also more climate-friendly. (mr)

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