Defined Wine begins capturing fermentation CO₂ for reuse in Kent

Defined Wine Ltd announced on Monday, November 9, that it had begun operating carbon-capture equipment at its Patrixbourne site near Canterbury. The Kent company says it is the 1st UK winemaker to adopt technology that recovers carbon dioxide released during grape fermentation and prepares it for further use.¹

The installation was developed by Cork and Capture, a climate-technology company based in Ashford. It collects fermentation gas before compressing and purifying it, allowing the recovered CO₂ to be used again at the site where it was generated.¹

Reuse, emissions and surplus gas

Defined Wine chief executive Henry Sugden said the winery pursued the project to reduce its environmental impact and put to work gas that would otherwise enter the atmosphere. He described testing the technology as an effort not to accelerate climate change and as the responsible course of action.¹

The company intends to consume the captured CO₂ at its own premises. If production exceeds its needs, it may sell the surplus to other producers, potentially cutting both emissions and reliance on externally supplied gas.¹

A system for fermentation businesses

Cork and Capture designed the system for wineries, breweries and other businesses whose fermentation processes generate CO₂. Jemima Bland of the company said recovering, compressing and purifying that gas can save producers money by returning it to them for use on site.¹

Although comparable equipment operates in other countries, it is still unusual in Britain. Cork and Capture wants to establish local networks across Kent and Sussex, matching captured CO₂ with nearby demand before moving into broader markets.¹

Bland identified opportunities in Britain’s relatively young wine sector and its expanding independent brewing industry. She said the technology could help producers pursue sustainability and innovation while competing with Europe’s longer-established wine regions.¹

Supply security strengthens the case

The project follows recurring doubts about the reliability of Britain’s CO₂ supply. Shortages in recent years have been associated with higher energy costs and fertilizer-plant closures; those plants produce carbon dioxide as a byproduct. The disruption has reached food and beverage companies that require food-grade CO₂ for carbonation, packaging and other operations.¹

Capturing fermentation gas can therefore provide wineries and breweries with some protection from a volatile supply chain as well as supporting climate goals. It creates a circular process in which a former waste stream becomes an input instead of being released and then replaced with gas purchased elsewhere.¹

Brewing precedent in West Sussex

The same Cork and Capture system is operating at Hepworth and Co Brewers Ltd in West Sussex. Chairman Andrew Hepworth said the brewery installed it to become more resilient after fluctuations in commercial CO₂ availability showed that unavailable suppliers could harm the business. Producing its own gas, he said, offers greater security of supply.¹

Uses beyond wine and beer

Food-grade carbon dioxide is also used for greenhouse cultivation, meat processing, food packaging and refrigerated transport, including as dry ice. Producing and reusing it nearer the point of demand could reduce transport expenses and pressure on supply chains.¹

Bland sees particular potential in regional groups of food and drink companies. In southeast England, where wine production and brewing have both grown in recent years, local CO₂ recovery could combine lower emissions and tighter cost control without altering the fermentation process that produces the gas.¹