Carlsberg Group, one of the world's biggest breweries, opened its 27th production base in the Chinese market in Sanshui district of Foshan, Guangdong province, on Wednesday.

The brewery, set up with an investment of 2.96 billion yuan ($415.5 million), features two bottling lines capable of producing 48,000 bottles per hour. It also has a canning line with a capacity of 90,000 cans per hour and a kegging line that can deliver an output of 90 kegs per hour.

"The commissioning of the production base will drive further development for Carlsberg in China, inspiring our business to achieve new levels of excellence across all fronts in the Chinese market," said Henrik Poulsen, chair of the supervisory board of Carlsberg Group.

As a flagship unit in Carlsberg's global operations, the brewery stands out for its smart manufacturing, green production and environmental, social, and governance, or ESG, management.

Equipped with advanced technology and brewing equipment, the brewery in Foshan, an important food and beverage industrial based in South China, can produce products for all Carlsberg brands, according to the company.

As Carlsberg's first so-called sponge brewery, designed to collect and treat rainwater for use in landscaping, workshop cleaning, and non-contact production processes, it significantly reduces overall water consumption, according to the company.

The brewery is also the first in China's beer industry to be air-conditioned using power from rooftop solar panels.

The brewery includes Carlsberg's first research and development center outside of Europe, which will begin operation this year. It will focus on bringing global innovation resources to the local market, catering to specific regional needs, and optimizing products and services.

The center will be involved in new product development, market trend analysis, flavor research, process optimization, packaging design and testing.

"The center enables the Chinese and Asian markets to respond swiftly to market changes," said Poulsen.

Carlsberg opened its first Chinese brewery in Huizhou of Guangdong in 1995 and established its Chinese headquarters in Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong.