Heineken UK’s Manchester brewery has recorded a 42% reduction in CO2 emissions intensity after investing £28.2 million in large-scale heatpump technology, driven by cutting natural gas consumption by a third.
The reduction reflects the latest measured results since the system was commissioned last year. Installation work began back in 2023.
The heat pump network is now fully embedded across the site, significantly reducing the brewery’s reliance on natural gas for on-site heating and transforming how energy is generated and used. Through reducing natural gas use, the project is helping to reduce the brewery’s reliance on fossil fuels and strengthen its resilience against energy market volatility.
Manchester is home to Heineken’s largest UK brewery, where it brews 2.5m pints a day. The project is the first retrofit of its kind at this scale within Heineken’s global operations.
Funded by a combination of capital investment and a government grant, the installation has attracted strong interest from across the brewing and manufacturing industries, with Heineken UK pioneering this use of heat pump technology to tackle the complex challenge of decarbonising beer production. The heat pump network was commissioned in June 2025, and the project has now entered a 12- to 18-month optimisation phase, with further efficiency gains expected as performance continues to be fine-tuned and scaled.
The project has been supported by £3.7m from the government’s Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF), helping to accelerate the deployment of innovative technology aimed at reducing industrial emissions.
The results at Manchester contribute more widely to Heineken’s global Brew A Better World sustainability strategy and their global ambition to reach net zero across the value chain by 2040.
