A 1,470 m² solar thermal collector field provides hot water for the mashing process in the brewery Goess, Austria. The mashing process has been changed to a low-temperature-process by integrating additional heat exchanger plates. Hot water is now used instead of steam, which allows better renewable energy integration.
The project has been realised in the frame of the FP7-project SolarBrew, where Goess has been the first of three HEINEKEN-breweries to be equipped with a large solar thermal collector field. The other two breweries in Vialonga, Portugal and Valencia, Spain are currently in the planning and implementation phase. The total installed capacity of these plants will be 5.08 MWth corresponding to a 7,270 m² collector area.