Sustainable schooner

Young Henrys' brewers, along with scientists from the University of Technology Sydney Climate Change Cluster (C3), are capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂), a brewing by-product, to feed algae, and in turn cut emissions.

The 400-litre algae bioreactors at Young Henrys are the centrepiece of the project — they produce as much oxygen as one hectare of Australian forest.

Algae are photosynthetic organisms that form an important part of all aquatic food webs and ecosystems. The two main types of algae are: macroalgae, which consists of kelps and seaweeds, and microalgae, which are tiny, microscopic plants that can grow both in fresh and salt water.

The CO₂ from fermentation of just one six-pack of beer — brewing produces 35 g of CO₂ per litre of beer — takes a tree two full days to absorb. Algae is up to five times more efficient than trees at absorbing carbon. In addition, the algae that is grown from sucking up all that CO₂ can go on to have another life, and it can be used in creating products in the food, pharmaceuticals and bioplastics markets.

“We were inspired by the work the C3 group were doing and wanted to get involved. Some of the skills we have as brewers managing yeast have an analogue in growing algae — it’s almost like they have an inverse relationship. We thought it would be worth exploring how microalgae could work in a brewing operation to lower our carbon footprint and produce real-world solutions,” said Young Henrys Co-Founder Richard Adamson.

Image credit: Young Henrys

Professor Peter Ralph, Executive Director of the Climate Change Cluster, said, “Young Henrys is the type of company that takes leadership in the sustainability space; this partnership between UTS Climate Change Cluster (C3) and an industry leader allows us to showcase that it is possible to have action today on climate change.

“This project really showcases how research, together with industry, can create practical and innovative solutions to address global problems today.” On their role of leading change, Young Henrys Co-Founder Oscar McMahon said, “As a business we believe that the private and public sector can lead the way in enacting change within society to reverse our impact on climate change. We feel as an independently owned Australian company, we need to do our bit and hopefully set a good example.”

The first phase of the partnership between UTS and Young Henrys is the research and set-up of the algae in the brewery. The second phase, which has yet to launch, will be a long process with the hope to achieve more carbon capture to create a large biomass of algae. More details related to phase two will be released in the coming months.

Top image courtesy of Young Henrys.