Lyras, a Danish company specialising in sustainable pasteurisation technology, has announced its entrance into the UK and Irish market, as part of its mission to accelerate the global reduction of CO2 emissions within the processing industry. By 2030, Lyras predicts that its equipment will have saved 1,000,000 metric tonnes of CO2.

Founded in 2017, Lyras was built on three years of research into sustainable pasteurisation processes and the development of its Raslysation technology alongside public health experts, academics and figures in the dairy and juice industries.

Raslysation is a non-thermal treatment that uses UV light at a specific wavelength to pasteurise opaque liquid food and non-food products, including dairy, juice and enzymes. The liquid is directed past the light source in a controlled movement so that everything is illuminated to inactivate bacteria and other microorganisms.

Lyras’ approach reduces energy use by 60-90% and water use by 60-80% while reducing operational costs and heightening product quality when compared to traditional techniques which require the product to be heated and cooled again.

By creating its Raslysation technology and bringing it to market, Lyras is enabling the processing industry to achieve a reduction in the usage energy and water in the pasteurisation process, and ultimately accelerate the global reduction of CO2 emissions created by the industry.

Lyras recognises the UK and Ireland as leaders in the liquid food production market, particularly for dairy products, and the importance of the food industry reducing its carbon footprint.

Rasmus Mortensen, CEO at Lyras said: “For the past 150 years, pasteurisation has been a process focused on heat. At Lyras, we have invented a technology that uses light to remove pathogens from liquid products. This is a much gentler approach to processing opaque liquid products, which not only maintains standards but enhances the quality of the product at the end of the process by causing less impact to the nutrients and taste.

“Lyras is quite literally shining a light on an industry that has been a source of high levels of water and consumption, as well as a significant producer of CO2. Our goal is to support the processing industry to reduce energy and water consumption and usage, and ultimately create a better, more sustainable way to produce products that millions of people use and consume every day. This is especially important during the energy crisis, plus an increased focus on the shelf life of food products.

“Bringing our innovative technology to the UK and Irish markets is a significant step forward, and we’re excited to see the positive impact that we can have to improve the sustainability and quality of liquid products being produced here.”

Lyras’ core systems, the Raslysation Sirius and the Raslysation Spica, are both easily installed solutions that are scaled and customised to industry specifications. The Sirius system operates using specially designed light filters to treat bacteria and spores in light-sensitive food and non-food liquids such as dairy products, wine and juice. The system saves enough CO2 to travel around the world by car 164 times. The Spica system operates on the same principles as the Sirius but is designed to treat low transparency liquids that are not light-sensitive, including tap water, brine and non-food liquids.

Lyras' technology has already been sold to companies in the US, Australia, Spain, Sweden and Denmark that operate within the dairy, juice and industrial fermentation industries. In the spring, the method was chosen to secure one of the world's most expensive dairy products, namely the protein lactoferrin, which is used, among other things, in infant formula. Its team of 68 is based in North Jutland, Denmark and recently won the EY Future Impact Award 2021.

For more information about Lyras, please visit lyras.com