Economy Appenzeller Brauerei puts the largest plant of its kind into operation
Together with the Locher brewery, a start-up in Appenzell commissioned Europe's largest plant for processing spent grains on Wednesday. The by-product of beer production is used to make raw materials for food production. The Director of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs was also present in Appenzell.
11.09.2024, 13:06
SDA
The new plant can process up to 25,000 tons of spent grains per year, as Vincent Vida from the start-up Upgrain explained in Appenzell on Wednesday. Around 5,000 to 6,000 tons of raw materials for food production are produced from this amount of spent grains. "We supply the raw materials to food producers, who can then use them in their products," continued Upgrain CEO Vida.
"What we don't want is greenwashing," said Helene Budliger Artieda, Director of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco), at the inauguration of the plant. However, the spent grains processing plant is a good example of a circular economy in which raw materials are reused.
The Locher brewery has been using its spent grains for several years to make potato chips, lasagne and muesli. Until now, however, the processing of spent grains was only possible on a small scale, explained brewery owner Karl Locher. Thanks to the new plant, CO2 savings are also possible.
The machine with the larger capacity is located in a production hall at the Locher brewery in Appenzell. According to Vida, Upgrain, which operates the plant, currently only purchases spent grains from the Locher brewery.
