Scottish Scheme To Make Biofuel From Whisky

Scotland is famous for producing the water of life, and now there are plans afoot to turn it into another useful product—biofuel. The link between whiskey and biofuel may not be immediately obvious, but Biofuels International reports that three Scottish companies are collaborating to repurpose distillery biproducts.

Ardnamurchan Distillery in Argyll, western Scotland, is named after the remote Highland peninsula where it was opened in 2014. It uses a hydro-electric generator which is powered by the river, and supplies 100% of the power needed to run the distillery. A biomass boiler that runs on locally sourced wood chips provides all the hot water.

The barley used at Ardnamurchan is grown on the estate, with the draff heads going for feedstock, and the pot ale is currently reused for fertiliser for local farms. Now, the distillery has joined forces with Woodlands Renewables and Celtic Renewables to make further use of the pot ale, and create what has been described as Scotland’s first biorefinery.

Donald Houston, of Ardnamurchan Estates, is the driving force behind the scheme. The new bio refinery will be based in Grangemouth, and it is hoped that it can produce one million litres of sustainable biochemicals each year. Pot ale, which is a biproduct of the whisky distilling process, is also used in the production of biochemicals and biofuel.

Houston explained: “The pot ale is piped over the hill from the distillery to the neighbouring Woodland Renewables, a local business set up to repurpose the distillery’s by-products whilst adding value to the local economy.”

He added: “At the Woodland Renewables plant it is combined with draff (another distillery by-product) and turned into a nutritious animal feed used on the peninsula to feed local livestock. Woodland Renewables will transport part of their pot ale stock to Celtic Renewables.”

The project has already attracted £43 million of funding, and it is hoped that eventually, five large scale refineries can be built to produce sustainable biochemicals. This long-term investment will contribute to the overall carbon net zero target for 2050, and help to drive a sustainable circular economy in Scotland.

Alex Bruce, the Ardnamurchan Distillery MD, commented: “Our energy all comes from local renewable sources (hydro and biomass) and our co-products, which are traditionally produced in all distilleries, are supplied to our neighbours, Woodland Renewables.”

He added: “From there they add value to the local circular economy by providing highly nutritional animal feed to livestock on Ardnamurchan, and we are incredibly excited that they also now deliver additional value to Celtic Renewables for conversion into sustainable chemicals and biofuels.”

Professor Martin Tangney of Celtic Renewables explained that the idea that biproducts from the distilling process could be used to make biofuel first took hold during lab work at Edinburgh Napier University in 2008. The lab-based innovation grew into an ambition which is now finding realisation in the current scheme.

The patented technology will convert 50,000 tonnes of biological material into renewable chemicals and biofuel, which cause minimum environmental damage, and have a useful commercial value.

 

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MATT BEVERLEY

A time served Mechanical engineer Matt’s background includes many high-profile projects within the Automotive Industry: The Rolls Royce Phantom, Rolls Royce Cullinan, Spyker Le-Mans racing teams, Bentley, Aston Martin, and Airbus A380. This history and knowledge of complex manufacturing and engineering projects have been transferred and further developed into the bulk material handling sector. Matt has work in Europe, North America, Indonesia, and China

He joined the bulk solids and bulk handling industry in 2019 as Managing Director of Hoverdale UK Ltd and subsequently completed a Management buyout in July 2020. The business has grown yearly, increased employment, its customer base, and worldwide reputation, and disrupted the market with groundbreaking innovative technology. Since Matt took over Hoverdale, the company has filed four patents for innovation; one was granted in 2023 for a design to improve bulk handling. The success had been driven by delivering tailored solutions to the waste recycling sectors that keep material flowing out and money flowing in.

Awards Include

  • 2024 – Shapa company of the Year
  • 2024- Shapa Innovation in Technology
  • 2024- MHEA Engineer of the year
  • 2021 – MHEA Innovation of the year
  • 2021- IMechE Innovation award

Current Positions Include.

  • Group Chairman Hoverdale UK Ltd
  • President (MHEA) Material Handling Engineers Association
  • Vice Chairman: IMechE Bulk Material Handling Committee
  • Council Member: (SHAPA) Solids Handling & Particle Association
  • Member: Chartered Management Institute

Matt has been happily married to Julie for 22 years and has 4 children, 3 of which are involved within the Hoverdale group of companies. He is an RFU level 2 qualified coach and referee having been in several head coaching roles at various age groups from under 6’s to adults for his local team Nuneaton RFC. He believes in the core values that rugby teaches of Teamwork, Respect, Enjoyment, Discipline, Sportsmanship and try’s to carry this through in his day to day business activities. He is passionate at brining the next generation of young, diverse engineers into the sector through promotion of apprenticeship scheme and further education routes.

DAVID BARTER

David is an experienced leader, with a background covering Operations, eCommerce, Finance, Compliance, HR and IT. His career spans Banking, Retail and Engineering, spending the majority of his career working for ALDI as they grew to become 4th largest supermarket in the UK, including seven years on their UK board as Managing Director of IT and eCommerce.

David joined Hoverdale’s Senior Management Team in 2023 to seek a fresh challenge in a completely different industry sector. He has applied his approach to Process Improvement, Efficiency, Customer Service and Teamwork to great effect during Hoverdale’s sustained growth.

Married to Jane, with three adult sons between them, David volunteers on the board of the Nottingham Playhouse theatre as well as his local rugby and football clubs. Any spare time he spends enjoying walks with their Golden Retriever, Buzz, who is also regularly seen in the Hoverdale office.

BEN DUCHESNE

Ben is a time serviced field service engineer in the busy waste and recycling sector, who’s career moved into to managing service teams and beyond. Originally beginning his career with a HGV repair and maintenance apprenticeship with IVECO, from there travelling and working in multiple countries moving towards waste processing shredders.

Ben joined the Hoverdale team in September 2024 seeking to apply his extensive knowledge to a new area. His values and ethics fit perfectly within the Hoverdale ethos.

He is happily married to Kristina, with 4 wonderful young children; 14, 11, 8 and 5. We the children he doesn’t get much spare time. He is a family man, who enjoys spending as much time with them as possible.