Cornelia Stumpe, Krones AG
The many processes in a brewery, like boiling, CIP, and Bottle washing, are energy consumers. In these days with the continuous increase in energy prices, it is more and more important for companies to become free from these unpredictable variables. Krones AG has developed a concept to use solar thermal energy in the brewery to support traditional energy sources, and this we want to present. By using a solar collector (with water as the heat transfer medium) from our partner, Paradigma GmbH, the vision is coming closer to reality. As an example the fossil fuel energy requirement of a bottle washer can be substituted nearly 90% by solar thermal energy during summer in Germany. The overall economic benefit depends upon the actual location of the brewery and the amount of solar energy reaching it. But, if it is possible in Germany, it must be possible almost anywhere else in the world.
Cornelia Stumpe studied technology and biotechnology of food at the Technical University of Munich. After her studies, in 2002 Stumpe wrote her diploma thesis at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. She started out in the brewing industry in 2003 as a commissioning engineer for food plants at Anton Steinecker GmbH, where she did worldwide commissioning until 2006. She worked as a group leader for cold processing at Krones AG Steinecker until May 2007. She is now group leader pre-development/process technology – research and development at Krones AG Neutraubling. One of the fields she is working on is sustainability in the brewing industry.
