Using pickle brine to combat icy roads.

A few years ago, Develey in Dingolfing, Lower Bavaria, thought that the water used to produce pickles was too good to simply throw away, so they started repurposing the brine for use in winter maintenance. This was the starting signal for an unusual, sustainable model for success.

Develey processes around 17,000 tonnes of cucumbers every year. The manufacturer purifies the resulting brine of plant components, enriches the sodium chloride content to up to 21 per cent and delivers the liquid ready to use for winter road maintenance. In this way, 1,000 tonnes of salt water are turned to 1,100 tonnes of brine, which is delivered to the road maintenance depots when needed. Munich Airport also uses the environmentally friendly cucumber brine for de-icing.

During the 2022/2023 winter season, just by using brine, the use of road salt was reduced by around 180 tonnes and 1.5 million litres of water were saved.

Engel & Zimmermann has been supporting Develey with press relations for many years and is also on hand with help and advice for this project.