Keeping Leading UK Brewery Operations Cool

A leading multinational brewery was looking for a partner that could answer their unique needs for cold storage within their Burton-on-Trent plant and replace the aging, ammonia-based process cooling system. ICS Cool Energy was able to deliver a bespoke, long-term hire solution that met all their requirements.

Cold storage in the middle of the plant

The brewery was looking for a way to install a flexible cold storage solution that would keep the kegs of beer and raw products cold and fresh within their craft beer pilot plant. They needed to maintain specific temperatures to guarantee product consistency, while coping with a high ambient temperature caused by the central location of the pilot plant within the manufacturing facility. ICS Cool Energy was able to tick all their boxes customizing a 20-foot refrigerated container unit as part of their Cold Store hire solutions.

Originally designed for global – often in high ambient temperatures – marine transport of temperature sensitive perishables, the Cold Store solution provides accurate and stable storage temperatures.  At the brewery, the unit’s temperature was set at down to minus 21 degrees Celsius to ensure the raw material and ingredients used in the brewery processes of the special craft beers were kept at the optimum conditions before they are used. Additionally, the portable Cold Store container, designed to be put on and off ships, gave the brewery the flexibility to move it around with the lift and shift as needed.

Replacing ammonia to combine safety, high efficiency and performance with low environmental impact.

Following the successful Cold Store hire project, the brewery was looking for a way to remove the ammonia (NH₃) refrigerated chillers from their site. Further investments required to maintain the old system safe and operational exceeded the financial and safety benefits of installing a new and more efficient one. ICS Cool Energy was again able to provide them with a hire solution, that met their process cooling needs and combined safety, high efficiency and performance with low environmental impact.

Initially, the brewery was looking for localized chillers for every part of the brewing process.  After analysing the options, the ICS Cool Energy team offered a more efficient solution that mimicked the old ammonia system. ICS Cool Energy installed three large 1,4MW chillers in the same area where the ammonia was originally installed, which allowed to tap the new chillers into the existing pipework and power infrastructure. The new chillers can provide reliable temperature control in the most demanding applications. They feature a variable volume index compressor and permanent magnet motor that allow the equipment to operate at the most appropriate pressure ratio and achieve outstanding part load efficiencies.

For low environmental impact, the units feature ultra-low global warming potential (GWP) R-1234ze refrigerant, which in chillers can outperform ammonia even by 25% according to the energy efficiency ratio (EER) analysis R-1234ze is mildly flammable and non-corrosive in comparison to ammonia, which is toxic and can pose serious risks to human health and food and beverage operations.