Britvic’s Beckton site is set to significantly reduce its carbon emissions by installing a heat recovery system, provided by GEA, which will result in an estimated annual saving of 1,200 tonnes of carbon. This reduction is equivalent to the energy usage of around 500 UK homes and represents a major step towards Britvic’s goal of reducing direct carbon emissions by 50% by 2025 and achieving net zero by 2050.
At its Beckton site, Britvic produces 2,000 drinks per minute, including popular beverages like Robinsons, Tango, and Pepsi MAX. GEA will be supplying two industrial ammonia heat pumps and a large thermal storage tank to facilitate the heat recovery system.
Sarah Webster, director of sustainable business at Britvic, highlights the significance of this project in relation to the company’s sustainability strategy: “The challenge with this brown-field project was how the improvements support us on our journey to reduce our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions as part of our science-based targets and our Healthier People, Healthier Planet sustainability strategy. We’re excited to be working with GEA to make our much-loved London factory sustainable for the future.”
The new heat recovery system will convert a significant portion of Britvic’s process heating from natural gas steam boilers to carbon-free heat recovery systems driven by heat pumps. By reusing low temperature waste heat from the existing production system, the heat recovery system will provide hot water up to a temperature of 92°C, which will then be distributed throughout the plant.
This change will decarbonize 50% of the site’s heat demand by reducing the use of gas in traditional steam boilers and shifting the heat source away from fossil fuels. Additionally, the system has a valved connection in place to allow for future recovery of up to 750 kW of heat from other sources.
Matthew Hadwen, beverage sales manager at GEA’s liquid & powder technologies division, highlights GEA’s unique capability in this field: “Upgrading legacy industrial steam heating systems and integrating these with heat pump technology is a challenge. At GEA, we can supply heat pumps and integrated process heat exchanger skids as one solution. This clearly sets us apart from our competition.”
Simon Gurr, sales manager at GEA’s heating & refrigeration division, sees this project as an opportunity to drive industry decarbonisation: “This project provides us with a fantastic opportunity to extend our leading role in industry decarbonisation. GEA’s expertise in both heat pump technology and process integration bring the right solution to Britvic.”
