Successfully combining traditional methods and innovative technology, Erdinger Weissbräu has established a strong position in both the German and international markets. By upgrading its technology and implementing efficient energy management, the brewery has succeeded in reducing its energy requirements by 40 percent per hectoliter over the past few years.
In the brewing process barley and wheat malts are mashed in stainless steel tuns, which are heated by steam. Any excess heat is mainly fed back into the heating cycle. The brewery makes further energy savings by generating electricity using the hot process steam.
The generating equipment – an ENVA Systems Energy Module –incorporates the IE4 generator from ABB. ENVA Systems specializes in supplying equipment for generating electricity from low pressure steam and waste heat.
IE4 motors and generators from ABB offer extremely high efficiency. In the case of the Energy Module, the use of an IE4 generator increases the electricity yield by approximately 3 percent. The Energy Module generates approximately 250,000 kWh of electricity per year for the brewery’s network. It has helped to make the process significantly more energy efficient and environmentally friendly since it was installed in 2013.