32

ACHIEVING ENVIRONMENTAL EXCELLENCE

1 2 3 4 5

By mid - 2025 , this method had been

applied to around 27 % of batches , and the

results speak for themselves . Each batch

now uses about 272 m ³ less water , adding

up to roughly 35 , 000 m ³ saved every

year , all while using less energy thanks

to a lower moisture content in green malt .

This represents another 378 MWh saved

a year .

And they didn ’ t stop there . Hodonice

introduced a high - eff iciency pump to

replace the gravity - driven transfer system

that moved barley from the steeping to the

germination vessels .

The new low - pressure , high - volume

design is already delivering results by

reducing both water use and transfer

time while maintaining grain quality . With

two of four pumps now in operation ,

water use during wet transfer has fallen

by about 20 % , saving approximately

30 , 000 m ³ each year . Once fully installed ,

total savings are expected to reach up to

60 , 000 m ³ annually .

.

At our Hodonice malting plant in the

Czech Republic , the team asked a

simple question : what if we only used

one wet period during the steeping

process instead of several ?

Traditionally , steeping involves multiple

wet cycles to kick - start germination .

However , through clever process

optimisation and careful barley selection ,

Hodonice has demonstrated that a single

wet phase could consistently deliver the

same product quality .

32

INNOVATIVE STEEPING

AT HODONICE PLANT

What makes the work at Hodonice stand out is that

the water savings didn ’ t come from major capital

investment , but from challenging how we steep

and how we operate day to day . By optimising

the process , selecting barley more carefully and

closely monitoring water use at operator level ,

we ’ ve signif icantly reduced consumption while

maintaining product quality .

Richard Paulů

PLANT DIRECTOR , HODONICE

OUR INITIATIVES

Sustainability Report 2025 Malting a world of difference