Everyman’s Right Brewery Oy, a Finnish craft brewery start-up based in Savonlinna, recently commissioned LCA Consulting Oy, a leading compatriot lifecycle assessment consultancy to carry out a carbon footprint study of the brewery’s production plans. Based on this lifecycle assessment study, Everyman’s Right Brewery can start their planned one million litre per annum production and achieve a net carbon zero footprint.
In their process, Everyman’s Right Brewery will recycle spent grains to produce their own biogas, which will provide energy for their production. Any excess biogas can be used to generate electricity, or it can be upgraded to biomethane for use in transportation.
Consumers’ interest in craft beer has been growing for years. And around the world, they are asking more questions about the products they consume, about how they are made and how sustainable they are. Our target is to export our beer globally, so differentiating from the competition is very important for us. If we can also influence climate change at the same time, everyone wins. With this example, our mission is to make the whole brewing industry more climate-friendly and sustainable, said co-founder and head brewer, Jussi Hukkanen, from Everyman’s Right Brewery.
Carbon capture and utilisation
The company says that it will also invest in carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and utilisation (CCU) for use in their production. Excess CO2 will be pressurized and sold to pubs and restaurants. The brewery will commit to using green electricity from their own solar plant or from the grid. All this, combined with heat recovery systems, will lower the brewery’s overall carbon footprint.
Performing a lifecycle assessment study of the brewery before initial investments and beginning production highlighted the production processes which are critical to achieving carbon neutral brewing. At the same time, the brewery got a holistic overview of the energy needed for production and of energy and resources which can be recycled back into the process. The results can be used to plan investments and optimize production, said Antti Niskanen, CEO of LCA Consulting.
The planned brewery will be an open space of 1 000 – 1 500 sq.m to house brewhouse, fermentation tanks, filling and packaging lines, and warehouse with space to scale up production to 6-8 million litres per annum.
The initial planned EUR 4.5 million investment includes 40 hl brewhouse and 100 000 – 150 000 litre fermentation capacity for 1 – 1.5 million litres annual capacity and according to the company, doubling capacity is achieved by simply adding additional fermenting capacity.
The venture has secured around EUR 1.7 million in investment support from local Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment of Finland (ELY) and another EUR 0.8 – 1 million from Finnvera with the balance to be financed through bank loans and crowdfunding. Assuming the venture goes according to plan, the first beverages will be available summer 2019.
Facts
About Everyman’s Right
Everyman’s Right is a Nordic term and it means that everyone has the right to roam on other people’s land and do what is traditionally believed to be reasonable, as long as they do not cause damage, pollute or break the law. You can swim in lakes, wander in the woods, pick berries and collect mushrooms from the forest. It does not matter who you are or where you’re from – you have the right and freedom to do so.
