COOK – Pudding to power
Discover how WASE’s miniWASE pilot system is helping COOK cut waste, reduce emissions, and generate clean energy on-site. By transforming pudding waste into biogas.
Customer: Hepworth Brewery
Location: West Sussex, UK
Solution: WASE EMR system + CHP
Key Impact: 362 MWh/year renewable energy | 100+ tonnes CO₂ saved annually | 100% On-site Treatment
The Challenge: A Linear, Costly Waste Stream
Hepworth Brewery, an award-winning independent brewer in West Sussex, faced a common industry problem: wastewater. Brewing is water-intensive, often producing up to 6 pints of effluent for every pint of beer. For Hepworth, this meant transporting large volumes of organic-rich wastewater off-site for disposal—a process that incurred high haulage costs, high carbon emissions from tanker movements, and exposure to fluctuating fuel prices.
Situated in an environmentally sensitive, water-stressed region, Hepworth needed a solution that was compact enough for their site but powerful enough to handle their high-strength waste without needing the footprint of traditional Anaerobic Digestion (AD) tanks.
The Solution: WASE’s UK-First Technology
In a pioneering partnership, Hepworth installed the UK’s first full-scale wastewater-to-energy system using WASE’s proprietary electro-methanogenesis technology.
Unlike traditional systems, WASE uses electrically active bacteria to accelerate the breakdown of organic matter. This allows the system to be modular and “plug-and-play,” treating wastewater 3–10x faster than conventional methods.
Treating
17 m3
of wastewater daily
Generating
362 MWh/yr
of net energy
Saving
100 tonnes
CO2 annually
How it works:
- On-site Treatment: The system processes up to 17m³ of brewery wastewater daily.
- Renewable Biogas: The WASE EMR system converts the brewingeffluent into a methane-rich biogas (up to 80% methane), which isused to power a CHP, which in turn powers the WASE plant, with excess energy generated used by the brewery, reducing the need for fossil fuels to power the site.
- Clean Water: Treated water is returned directly to the local environment rather than being hauled away, whereby a reed bed is used as final water polishing stage
- Organic Fertiliser: The process recovers valuable nutrients, creating a small amount of nutrient-rich digestate for local Sussex farmers to use as organic fertiliser.
The Impact: Brewing Resilience into Every Pint
The installation has transformed Hepworth’s wastewater from a “cost centre” into a “resource centre.”
- Carbon Neutrality: The project is a cornerstone of Hepworth’s goal to reach 85% carbon neutrality by the end of 2025.
- Ecological Stewardship: By returning treated water to the local ecosystem, Hepworth helps protect rare local species, such as the endangered freshwater snail, in a region increasingly prone to drought.
- Operational Savings: The brewery has eliminated the “Scotland to South Africa and back” equivalent in annual tanker mileage, drastically reducing Scope 3 emissions and haulage costs.
We’re not just reducing our footprint—we’re building resilience into every pint. This project transforms a traditionally linear process into a circular model that benefits the brewer, the environment, and the wider agricultural community.
Andy Hepworth, Founder and Chairman of Hepworth Brewery
Celebrating Success: The Nexus Beer Series
To mark this milestone, Hepworth and WASE launched the Nexus Series—the UK’s first beers powered by wastewater-to-energy technology.15 The trio includes:
- Liquid Asset (Lager): A crisp, refreshing lager representing water.
- Electric Hop (IPA): A vibrant IPA representing energy.16
- Botanic State (0.5% Pale Ale): A nature-inspired low-alcohol beer representing food/agriculture.
Brewed with local Bodiam hops and organic barley from Goodwood, these beers serve as a “bold, practical demonstration” of how the circular economy can be achieved in the food and drink industry today.
Technical Summary
- System: WASE industriWASE EMR reactor + ultrafiltration + reed bed
- Wastewater Treated: 17 m³ / day
- Energy Generated: 362 MWh / year
- Carbon Savings: 100+ tonnes CO₂e / year
- Technology: WASE Electro-methanogenesis (EMR) with enhanced operational control utilising the WASE intelligence system, our proprietary AI-optimisedbiosening for 24/7 system optimisation and control.
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