Sustainability leaves you wanting more: chocolate warms the Beurs van Berlage
The Beurs van Berlage is taking the next step towards a gas-free future. Thanks to an innovative collaboration with Tony’s Chocolonely Super Store, the residual heat from the famous Choco Machine is now being used to heat the monumental building on Damrak in a sustainable way. For conference and event visitors, the familiar comfortable experience in the halls remains unchanged, only now in a unique and more sustainable way.
The Choco Machine in the Super Store is used to produce personalised chocolate bars and continuously emits heat. In the summer, this residual heat is cooled by a heat pump installation, but in the cooler months, starting this year, it will be the primary heat source for the conference centre. With autumn just around the corner, the residual heat from the machine will be used frequently in the coming months. Kelvin van Nimwegen, Property Director: “The Beurs van Berlage is a large national monument covering 18,000 m2, of which Tony’s Chocolonely Super Store occupies approximately 1%. With this reusable heat, the Beurs van Berlage is able to reduce its gas consumption by no less than 8%, taking a significant step towards completely gas-free and climate-neutral operations.” In addition, this collaboration offers the Super Store the opportunity to use the residual heat from the Choco Machine, which would otherwise be lost, in a sustainable way.
Images of the Choco Machine and the new installation at the Tony’s Chocolonely Super Store.
The Beurs van Berlage’s regular installer, Burg Installatietechniek, designed the necessary installation specifically for Tony’s Chocolonely Superstore. This ensures that the temperature in the Choco Machine remains constant at all times, thereby complying with food safety standards. Last January, the Super Store had to close its doors for a week for technical work, but the benefits were immediately noticeable: the project went smoothly, and the climate control in the space has also improved significantly. Sophie Gerridzen, Store Captain of Tony’s Chocolonely Super Store: ‘We are extremely pleased with this sustainable collaboration, which was also realised very quickly.’
Both Tony’s Chocolonely and the Beurs van Berlage are enthusiastic about this positive development. Through this collaboration, in which innovation, heritage and chocolate reinforce each other, the monumental building is taking an important step towards fully climate-neutral operations by 2050.