Firm in the Midlands set to revolutionise Ireland's beer industry

A company in Longford, Core Components, is now using techniques that were used to recycle air for the Mars Space Mission to recover carbon dioxide from beer kegs. The new technology designed by company owner Frank Hartmann, is set to revolutionise the beer industry and support it in meeting its climate change objectives.

Pubs use carbon dioxide to dispense beer by pushing it to the tap with a mixture of carbon dioxide and nitrogen. While nitrogen has been collected from air in pubs for some thirty years, collecting carbon dioxide up until now has been more difficult. Developments recently made by Core Components Ltd, Templemichael Business Park, Longford has changed this, now making the collection of carbon dioxide possible.

The company have assembled hi-tech components into a pub scale machine to collect and reuse carbon dioxide from empty beer kegs so that it can be reused to dispense beer. With the price of carbon dioxide having soared in recent times due to the closure of several natural gas fertiliser production plants in the UK, this new technology will significantly reduce costs in the industry and will have a very positive environmental impact along the supply chain.

The new technology will effectively reduce emissions; decentralise electricity use; remove the need to deliver, store and certify cylinders; prevent cylinder losses; ensure uninterrupted supply; radically reduce transport costs and prevent unnecessary carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere - it is estimated this new development will bring about savings of €20M in the EMEA market.

Core Components’ main business is in the manufacture of award-winning fob detectors for beer lines, which are used worldwide to prevent waste when a keg empties.

The company has also patented an automated beer line sanitising system that works without added chemicals. Frank Hartman, Chief Executive, Core Components says of this latest invention.

“This new system will fill that last technical gap in advanced beer dispensing.”

All projects undertaken to date by Core Components have been assisted by Longford Local Enterprise Office. Michael Nevin, Head of Enterprise with the LEO office said that Core Components has perfected a technology that can solve an age old problem.

He added that Frank Hartman’s commitment to continuous research and his technical engineering knowledge has enabled him to achieve this significant breakthrough that will alter the keg management system in the beer industry going forward.

Core Components is already a market leader in the provision of products and systems for the beer dispensing and this new technology will place the company at the heart of that industry for many years to come.