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Tetra Pak has announced a collaboration with Swedish solar thermal company Absolicon to offer a standardised solution for industrial equipment powered by renewable thermal energy. Absolicon has designed a scalable solar thermal module that can be integrated with current and new UHT lines. It enables a range of decarbonisation options including a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions based on the customer requirement and location. Tetra Pak said its UHT processing line for high-temperature sterilisation of dairy products is the first solution to be offered together with a scalable solar thermal energy supply, with the potential to reduce fossil fuel usage by up to 40%. The first module is forecasted to be installed this year before scaling to a worldwide market. Nicole Uvenbeck, director of Factory Sustainable Solutions and OEM components at Tetra Pak, said: “At Tetra Pak, we are committed to enabling our customers to improve their environmental footprint through optimising their operations and equipment. We recently launched a new business solution called Factory Sustainable Solutions, where we help our customers optimise energy, water and Cleaning In Place on a factory level.” She added: “Absolicon’s solar thermal solutions are a good fit with this new Tetra Pak offering, as well as supporting our wider Net Zero Roadmap, where we have committed to reducing our value chain emissions and scaling decarbonisation solutions for our suppliers, customers and own operations”. Joakim Byström, CEO at Absolicon, said: “By implementing clean thermal supply to their equipment, Tetra Pak are once again proving they are pioneers. They have global access to the world’s food and beverage companies and can become a change driver for the sector’s transition from fossil fuels to renewable heat.”