Press Release
12th September 2023
In a landmark “Internet of Things” use-case, Asahi Europe & International (AEI) has successfully deployed BinaryBeer’s smart keg solution as an Innovation project (test & learn) on Asahi-owned kegs, monitoring their journey across Europe in real-time to provide unprecedented insights into logistics, consumption, beer quality and sustainability.
BinaryBeer, in partnership with Asahi Europe & International, is proud to announce the launch of a first-of-its-kind international smart keg deployment to monitor beer quality, keg locations, and sustainability metrics across international borders, providing real-time actionable data from the field. Asahi Europe & International manages one of the world’s largest international distribution networks of draught beer containers. The deployment, which involves the attachment of BinaryBeer’s KegLink™ IoT sensors onto Asahi’s stainless steel kegs, will deliver unprecedented, live insights from outside the brewery. The data is anticipated to bring organisation-wide benefits, helping advance Asahi Europe & International’s path to carbon neutrality. This technology, enabled by AEI’s digital team, represents a landmark accomplishment for Massive IoT adoption, overcoming international roaming challenges while paving the way for smart kegs in one of the world’s largest markets. “We’ve together taken a huge step in providing unique beer insights, meanwhile beer drinkers across Europe will appreciate a fresher and more sustainable beer” – Michael Burton (CEO BinaryBeer).
The smart kegs, equipped with 5G wireless connectivity and bespoke IoT sensors will monitor key data points including location, temperature, and freshness, while identifying the exact moment when the beer is put on tap. While the project is anticipated to continue throughout 2023 at a minimum, the new IoT sensors incorporate modern LPWAN technology that can see the smart keg’s battery life extend well beyond 10 years, overseeing potentially hundreds of turns through Asahi Europe & International’s international distribution network. The smart kegs are being filled with beer and deployed from the Asahi-owned breweries to warehouses and customers across Europe. “We’ve only just launched this project and we’re already seeing our beers moving throughout our European markets. I am glad to see this data coming back to us in real-time, providing us with tremendous insights to improve our overall operations” David Bidau, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Asahi Europe & International.
The smart keg deployment will uncover live, actionable insights from the field that have historically been unavailable to brewers. Spanning freshness, sales and logistics, the insights may be used to optimise multiple business units to drive beer quality, revenue and sustainability. “It’s revolutionary for the entire brewing organisation” says Michael Burton, CEO BinaryBeer, “We don’t just track kegs, our focus is delivering enterprise-wide value, even if the solution is deployed solely within logistics”.
BinaryBeer’s KegLink sensors contain a wide array of sensors used for monitoring location, beer quality and consumption activity which is reported back to the brewery through the 5G NB-IoT network. “Now into our third generation of hardware, our KegLink beer-orientated design includes AI-based geolocation along with infrared lasers detecting when the keg is coupled at the venue, we’re really pushing the boundaries of what is possible with Massive IoT technology, using new data to derive valuable, actionable insights” – James Rule Head of Technology at BinaryBeer.
About BinaryBeer: Based in Wollongong, Australia, BinaryBeer is the global leader in smart keg technology, boasting numerous patents and a long list of “world first” accomplishments throughout their mission to connect the world’s kegs to the cloud. BinaryBeer has been deploying smart kegs since 2018 to improve the quality, profitability and sustainability of draught beer.
About Massive IoT: Massive IoT is a growing field within the Internet of Things that involves the large-scale deployment of mobile sensors into industries that support immense scale. Massive IoT has become feasible through the recent proliferation of Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) connectivity (such as 5G), and the increasing availability of low-cost, efficient sensing technologies. The Massive IoT industry is forecast to grow at 22.5% CAGR reaching $521.2B in 2031. Source: Allied Market Research
To learn more about KegLink, please contact BinaryBeer at [email protected]
For press enquiries, interviews, or further comments please reach out to [email protected]
