Kaiser Bräu Cuts Brewery Energy Use with CompAir Ultima Oil-Free Compressor
Kaiser Bräu modernised its brewery with a CompAir Ultima U55s-RS oil-free compressor, reducing annual electricity demand by 60,058 kWh while recovering heat to warm process water from approximately 10°C to 65°C.
Key highlights
60,058 kWh less electricity per year
Lower annual electricity demand while generating the same volume of compressed air.
135,000 kWh of recovered heat put to use
Heat from compressed air production is recovered and used for process water.
Process water heated from 10°C to 65°C
Recovered heat helps bring process water from approximately 10°C up to 65°C.
Class 0 oil-free compressed air
The CompAir Ultima U55s-RS provides oil-free compression meeting ISO 8573-1 Class 0 for oil.
The Challenge
Kaiser Bräu wanted to modernise its existing compressed air supply and improve energy efficiency across its brewing and bottling operations. The brewery already operates an energy management system compliant with ISO 50001 and monitors individual electricity consumers to identify opportunities for improvement.
Its previous compressor combination consumed 312,715 kWh of electricity annually to generate approximately 2.53 million m³ of compressed air. The goal was therefore to supply the same required air volume more efficiently while maintaining reliable, oil-free compressed air for brewery applications.
The Solution
CompAir assessed Kaiser Bräu's existing compressed air supply and energy requirements before the brewery installed a CompAir Ultima U55s-RS oil-free variable-speed screw compressor.
Ultima uses two separately controlled permanent-magnet motors to directly drive the compression stages. Its control system coordinates compressor speed with actual air demand, while the direct-drive design eliminates the need for a mechanical gearbox.
The installation also incorporates heat recovery. Instead of allowing heat generated during compression to go unused, Kaiser Bräu transfers recovered energy through a heat exchanger to process water, heating it from approximately 10°C to 65°C while keeping the compressed air and water circuits separate.
For applications where air purity matters, Ultima's oil-free compression meets ISO 8573-1 Class 0 for oil
The Results
With the Ultima U55s-RS, annual electricity demand for the same compressed air volume decreased from 312,715 kWh to 252,657 kWh, a reduction of 60,058 kWh per year.
Heat recovery provides another benefit. At 45 kW of usable thermal output across 3,000 utilisation hours, the system makes 135,000 kWh of heat available annually for process water heating.
Together, the improvements allow Kaiser Bräu to address both compressed air electricity consumption and process heating requirements through the same modernisation project.
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Ultima 55 - 160 kW
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