Research projects

BrewAI

Mash tun and dissolving vat in a traditional UK brewery

BrewAI explores how artificial intelligence can be applied to improve sustainability in beverage production.

The project brings together academic expertise, student involvement and industry collaboration to develop practical, data-driven approaches to reducing environmental impact and improving operational efficiency.

What BrewAI does

BrewAI focuses on how production data can be used more effectively to support decision-making in manufacturing environments.

By bringing together energy, process and emissions data, the platform enables users to:

  • understand how resources are used across production processes
  • identify patterns and inefficiencies that may not be visible in standard reporting
  • explore opportunities to reduce energy consumption and emissions
  • track changes and improvements over time using consistent data.

The aim is to turn complex operational data into clear, actionable insight that can support more sustainable production practices.

Research context

The project contributes to FBL’s research activity in the areas of:

  • artificial intelligence and data analytics
  • sustainability and net zero transition
  • innovation in production and manufacturing systems
  • applied, industry-engaged research.

It reflects ARU’s focus on research that is both academically robust and directly relevant to real-world challenges.

Collaboration and student involvement

BrewAI has been developed through collaboration between academic staff and student researchers, with contributions from Mariia Kaliman and Tom Stacey playing a key role in its development.

The project provides opportunities for students to engage in applied research, including:

  • working with real-world datasets
  • contributing to the development and testing of analytical tools
  • gaining experience in sustainability-focused innovation projects.

It also supports collaboration with external partners in the beverage and manufacturing sectors.

Why it matters

Reducing environmental impact in production environments requires better visibility of how energy and resources are used.

BrewAI supports this by helping organisations move from high-level reporting to more detailed, data-informed understanding of operational performance. This enables more targeted and measurable sustainability improvements.

Get involved

BrewAI is an active research project and welcomes engagement from academic and industry partners.

Opportunities include:

  • collaborative research projects
  • student placements and dissertation projects
  • participation in pilot studies and development work.

Find out more

Visit the BrewAI project site at https://www.brewai.net/