The König Brauerei brewery will construct an efficient brewhouse with Ziemann Holvrieka
The König-Brauerei GmbH brewery in Duisburg will soon begin construction of one of the most sustainable brewhouses in the world. “The new construction of our brewhouse is the next important step toward the future viability of the Duisburg site and yet another milestone in our sustainability strategy,” says Guido Christiani, Managing Director of König-Brauerei GmbH. The brewery is collaborating on this project with Ziemann Holvrieka GmbH, which is designing and building the turnkey brewhouse with a view to achieving the highest possible wort quality, energy efficiency, and resource conservation. “We are particularly proud that after almost five decades of using the Ziemann brewhouse, König-Brauerei GmbH has once again chosen our products and services – because, as we all know, only satisfied customers come back,” summarizes Florian Schneider, CCO of Ziemann Holvrieka GmbH.
The new brewhouse is scheduled to go into operation in 2027 and will significantly improve the energy efficiency and resource usage of the König-Brauerei brewery. As part of this comprehensive investment, the existing malt handling and the two Ziemann brewing lines built in 1976 and 1977 will be completely replaced with state-of-the-art technology. All existing utilities and the integration into the existing energy grid will remain in operation. This includes, for example, the procurement of emission-free waste heat from the district heating network of the integrated steelworks of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG. The hot water is generated from the waste heat of a highly efficient combined heat and power plant.
“The new plant, with its state-of-the-art technology and its certified energy management system, ensures that the König-Brauerei brewery will operate one of the most efficient and environmentally friendly international brewhouses,” says Dr. Matthias Baldus, Head of Beer Production and Energy at König-Brauerei GmbH.
40 percent less energy, 20 percent less water
Compared to previous technology, the new Ziemann brewhouse reduces energy consumption in beer production processes by up to 40 percent. At the same time, it reduces water consumption in the new brewhouse by almost 20 percent, thanks to optimized processes.
Specifically, these sustainable improvements are achieved through:
– a newly designed malt handling from Ziemann’s sister company Künzel,
– minimizing heat losses thanks to the extensive insulation of all vessels, pipes, and containers,
– heat recovery thanks to the innovative DeltaBrew concept developed by Ziemann, plus
– reducing water consumption through optimized process steps in wort production.
Extremely gentle wort extraction
From the brewing technologists’ point of view, this is complemented by the extremely gentle wort extraction, thanks to the brewhouse innovations Colibri, Shark, Wortex and Lotus. The results are a low thermal load (TBA value), an oxygen input reduced to a minimum, plus optimized process times – in short – the best possible beer quality. Other highlights include the showroom version with highly polished, tightly welded brewing vessels as a platform solution, as well as automation with Braumat and integrated energy management to avoid peak loads.
Requirements catalogue optimally implemented
In addition to these technical aspects, the integration into the existing infrastructure and energy supply was a real challenge due to the limited space. From the perspective of König-Brauerei GmbH, Ziemann Holvrieka was simply the best for implementing this challenging list of requirements. “We’re looking forward to an equally trusting and goal-oriented collaboration in the realization of the upcoming project,” concludes Florian Schneider.
About König-Brauerei
The König-Brauerei brewery has been producing climate-neutrally since the end of 2020. This was made possible by the consistent avoidance and reduction of CO₂ emissions and by supporting certified offsetting projects for currently unavoidable emissions. With the completion of a new energy supply in 2024 and close cooperation with Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe and E.ON, the brewery’s CO₂ emissions have been reduced by up to 75 percent – and that’s yet another milestone on the way to becoming one of the most sustainable breweries in Germany.
