Budweiser drafts green energy proposals 

The beer giant has submitted proposals for a hydrogen facility on 8.6 acres at its Samlesbury brewery, part of the company’s plans to reduce its carbon emissions. 

According to Protium, with whom Budweiser is working on the scheme, the facility “will save thousands of tonnes of CO2 emissions per years, reducing the brewery’s reliance on fossil fuels”. 

The Samlesbury Net Zero project, combined with other initiatives, aims to help Budweiser Brewing Group’s Samlesbury brewery meet its thermal demand, heating and transport needs through green hydrogen energy. 

The new facility would be built next to the brewery, which lies just off the A59 between Preston and Blackburn. The facility, which would include an electrolyser, associated plant, and refuelling station, would cover an area similar in size to one-and-a-half full-size football pitches. 

Under the plans, submitted to South Ribble Council, Protium would fund, build, and operate the site for the brewery.  

Protium and Budweiser are aiming to start construction by next spring, subject to planning approval.  

Once produced, the hydrogen would be fed directly to hydrogen-ready boilers allowing the brewery to meet the thermal demand of its brewing processes and other heating requirements. 

It would also supply a hydrogen refuelling station for use by hydrogen-ready heavy goods vehicles. The heat from the hydrogen production facility (HPF) will be recovered and used in Budweiser’s bottling process. 

This could be Protium’s third HPF in the UK and its second with Budweiser after the announcement in 2022 of plans for the Magor brewery in South Wales. Protium, established in 2019, is headquartered in London. 

To learn more, search for application 07/2023/00597/FUL on South Ribble Council’s planning portal.