Solving for a Carbon Neutral Future

by Roland Folz, Vice President, Pentair Food & Beverage

Global emissions are a pressing issue across the world leading into the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference starting later this month, with securing global net zero by mid-century one of the priority goals. As a leading provider of water treatment and sustainable solutions, at Pentair we recognize our opportunity to make unique contributions to global efforts for carbon neutrality by reducing emissions within our own operations as well as through delivering innovative solutions to help our customers achieve their carbon goals.

Companies, countries and cities around the world are employing bold strategies to reduce emissions, though some industries cannot avoid emitting GHGs as part of their current processes. To help close the gaps towards a circular economy, Pentair has developed technologies for biogas upgrading and carbon capture utilization to help customers lower carbon intensity by capturing the gas emissions from their processes and recycling them to produce valuable byproducts like bio-methane and liquid carbon dioxide (CO2).

A range of industries including soft drink bottlers, breweries, food and beverage manufacturers, farms, landfills and wastewater plants can utilize these technologies. One of many examples, also highlighted in our 2020 Corporate Responsibility Report, is Pentair’s biogas upgrading and CO2 recovery system technology being utilized by Sustainable Fuel Plant Group to convert waste biomass, including manure and waste from the food and feed industry, to biogas. The biogas is upgraded to deliver bio-methane that is used by the national grid to supply electricity to approximately 12,000 households. Additionally, the system produces 20,000 tons of liquid CO2 each year, which is primarily sold to greenhouses as air enrichment.

Pentair was also proud to recently install Amager Bakke’s first carbon capture pilot plant. Amager Bakke is one of the largest waste-to-energy plants in Northern Europe. Commissioned by ARC, a joint municipal company, and developed in cooperation with Danish Technical University, the plant will help ARC achieve its goal to eliminate 500,000 metric tons of CO2 by 2025 — a crucial step to help make Copenhagen the first carbon-neutral capital in the world. Watch the time-lapse video (at right) as Pentair's mobile carbon capture pilot plant was installed at Amager Bakke within 24 hours. 

We are excited about these efforts, and will continue to utilize our global perspective, deep expertise, and proven innovation processes help create a healthier, more sustainable and carbon neutral future. Learn more at pentair.com/impact.