The brewery Dr. Gab’s is taking its environmental commitment to the next level with the launch of its CO2 recovery and reuse system, developed in partnership with Swiss startup WasteOlas. This project is part of a comprehensive sustainability initiative that the Vaud-based brewery has been pursuing for many years.
A long-term commitment rooted in Dr. Gab’s DNA
Since its inception, Dr. Gab’s has placed environmental responsibility at the heart of its development. This approach is long-term and has been implemented through actions taken progressively over the years. The CO2 recovery project, which teams have been actively working on since 2023, is a prime example of this. Since its creation in 2001, the brewery had already implemented several
concrete measures to reduce its impact:
- Recovery and washing of bottles for reuse, promoting a deposit and circular economy approach;
- Installation of solar panels on the roof of the production site to generate part of its electricity;
- Use of electric vehicles by the sales force to reduce travel-related emissions;
- Recovery of spent grain and distribution to a local farmer for use as biogas or livestock feed.
The installation of the CO2 recovery system thus reinforces a coherent and progressive vision of a more responsible brewery.
A pioneering circularity project in the brewing industry
Developed with WasteOlas, the system captures the CO2 naturally generated during beer fermentation, purifies it, and then reuses it directly in the production process.
“With this partner, we have developed a Swiss-made system to capture CO2 from fermentation, compress it, filter it, check its purity, and reinject it into other internal processes,” explains Gabriel Hasler, co-founder of Dr. Gab’s.
This approach reduces dependence on external supplies of food-grade CO2 while lowering the brewery’s overall carbon footprint. Similar to the self-consumption of electricity generated by solar panels, Dr. Gab’s now promotes the use of a resource generated on site, in line with a philosophy of autonomy and circularity.
“The goal is clear: to eventually cover 100% of our needs, while optimizing energy consumption and quality at every stage,” explains Gabriel Hasler.
Supported by the Canton of Vaud (SPEI) and carried out with numerous Swiss partners, this project, developed with several local companies, demonstrates that technological innovation and artisanal production can go hand in hand to build a more resilient and sustainable industrial model.
A long-term vision
For Dr. Gab’s, this inauguration is not an end in itself, but rather another step in a fundamental commitment. The brewery intends to continue its efforts in the area of sustainability, in particular by exploring new avenues for energy optimization and resource recovery.
A phase 2 of the project is already being considered, with the integration of a CO2 liquefaction module and the possibility of selling any surplus to other local companies.
Source : Press Release
