SurePure of Cape Town has announced a new technology for brewers that will harness light, the traditional enemy of beer, to replace heat in the commercial brewing process, to provide substantial energy and water savings and help reduce the brewing carbon footprint.

According to SurePure’s marketing executive Steve Miller, global brewing conglomerates and local brewers are taking a serious look at SurePure’s patented ultraviolet photopurification technology, which provides a green alternative to pasteurisation, sterile filtration and chemicals.

Miller explains that UVC systems have been used for many years in breweries to microbiologically purify water, with varying degrees of success. However, he says that the SurePure UVC technology is the only one that can be applied to water and to turbid liquids and the first known application of ultra violet technology that is being used in the actual brewing process.

“We have a global brewer that has implemented the technology to replace heat purification for raw materials and water; they are particularly interested in how the technology which would replace or complement the pasteurisation process for finished product, and can help deliver against their public commitment to deliver significant reductions in energy and water consumption,” he says.

On the benefits of SurePure’s technology over the existing heat technology, Miller explains that it significantly reduces the brewing carbon footprint as it uses less energy and water; costs less to purchase and maintain; and takes up far less floor space than the traditional heat technology.

He says that from a cost point of view the technology can pay for itself in under a year with just the energy saving alone. “There are also savings with lower maintenance costs and product quality and shelf stability enhancement,” he adds. “It also offers the opportunity for interesting NPD activity and new marketing claims for premium products with higher margins. It saves resources and money, and allows the innovative brewer to make new products and more margin.”

Miller says that there is huge scope for SurePure to be used by brewers internationally. “This technology has relevance to every brewer in the world, from craft micro-brewer to global brand brewer,” he says. “Given that most global brewers also enjoy significant Carbonated Soft Drink interests where this technology is also applicable in areas like purifying sugar syrup solutions and replacing preservatives, we have no doubt that global brewing companies will find this technology interesting and commercially exciting.”