Antwerp (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Seef Brewery in Antwerp, led by Johan Van Dyck, cut CO₂ use by 98% using a nitrogen system from Atlas Copco. The city supports the eco-project to meet the 2030 climate goals.
As VRT News reported, Seef Brewery in Antwerp has started a new test project to stop using CO₂ gas in the beer-making process. Officials mentioned that normally, brewers use CO₂ to push oxygen out of tanks and kegs before adding beer. Oxygen can spoil the taste of beer and make it age faster. But when the beer is added, the CO₂ that was used is released into the air. This gas adds to global warming and harms the climate.
Johan Van Dyck, who runs the Seef Brewery, says they used to work with companies in the Port of Antwerp to reuse CO₂, which helped a bit. Still, that gas ended up in the air, too. Even recycled CO₂ is not perfect. That’s why the brewery began looking for a cleaner and smarter way to handle the problem. They wanted to take a bigger step toward protecting the planet.
What is helping Seef Brewery cut CO₂ emissions by 98%?
Seef Brewery worked with Atlas Copco, a company from Wilrijk in Antwerp, to find a better way to make beer. They came up with a system that uses nitrogen gas instead of CO₂. They mentioned that nitrogen is a safe gas that is already in the air. It does not harm the planet.
The new system uses nitrogen to push out oxygen from tanks before filling them with beer. This stops the need to release CO₂ into the air. The brewery is now testing this system to see how well it works. It is the first time the system has been used in a real brewery. If it works well, Atlas Copco hopes other breweries will also start using it.
“The word ‘nitrogen may not sound healthy, but don’t panic: with every breath you take, more than 70 % is nitrogen. Only 21% is oxygen. So it’s a gas that surrounds us,”
Explains Van Dyck.
Seef Brewery in Antwerp is using a new nitrogen system to make its brewing process more climate-friendly. The system was made by Atlas Copco, a company based in the same area. It works by pulling in air from outside with a strong compressor. That air goes through a machine that separates the oxygen and sends it back out.
The nitrogen is kept and sent into the beer tanks before they are filled. This helps keep the beer fresh without using CO₂, which harms the environment. When the tanks are full, the nitrogen goes back into the air.
The whole system uses only green energy, so no extra pollution is made. They mentioned that the goal is to replace CO₂, which is normally used to remove oxygen from beer tanks. So far, this change has helped the brewery cut its CO₂ emissions by 98%.
Johan Van Dyck says the main goal is to stay climate-friendly, but the beer also needs to keep its good flavour and high quality. The brewery has cared about the environment for a long time. It is a small and independent place that uses bottles and crates made from recycled materials.
The grain left over after brewing is not thrown away. Instead, it goes to a nearby farm as food for animals. The city of Antwerp helped the brewery with money for this green change. The city wants to lower CO₂ pollution by half by the year 2030. People who want to see how it all works can visit the brewery. It is open from Wednesday to Sunday.
Seef Brewery is a small beer maker in Antwerp that brings old beer recipes back to life. It started in 2012 and has always cared about the environment. The brewery uses recycled glass and plastic for its bottles and crates. It also gives leftover grain to farmers for animal feed.
