Celtic Renewables partners Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant following €1,5million investment

27-Jun-2014 - Belgium

Celtic Renewables, an Edinburgh-based biofuel company, has signed an agreement with a biotechnology pilot facility to undergo next stage testing of its process to turn whisky by-products into biofuel that can power current vehicles. The partnership, which will allow the company to develop its technology at Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant (BBEPP) in Ghent, has been made possible by second round funding worth €1.5million, including more than €1million from the UK Government, to help meet its ambition of growing a new €125 million-a-year industry in the UK.

Celtic Renewables has already proved the concept of producing biobutanol from draff – the sugar-rich kernels of barley which are soaked in water to facilitate the fermentation process necessary for whisky production – and pot ale, the yeasty liquid that is heating during distillation. It will spend the next few months seeking to replicate work done in its Scottish laboratory at an industrial scale. Celtic Renewables is the first company to trial biobutanol technology at the Belgian demonstrator pilot facility and also the first Scottish company to sign a partnership with BBEPP.  

The company plans to build its first commercial demonstration facility in Scotland and it is targeting a proposed €31,25million fund operated by the Department of Transport to help fund this.

Other news from the department research and development

Most read news

More news from our other portals

Discover the latest developments in battery technology!