Celtic Renewables to test whisky-to-biofuel tech in Belgium

Jun 25, 2014 - Scottish biofuel company Celtic Renewables Ltd said today it had agreed to test its biobutanol technology at the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant (BBEPP) in Ghent, Belgium.

Celtic Renewables pointed out it had recently obtained EUR 1.5 million (USD 2m) through a second-round funding, including over EUR 1 million from the UK government.

The Edinburgh-based firm is developing a technology that turns whisky by-products such as draff and pot ale into biofuel for use in current vehicles. Its goal is to grow a new EUR-125-million-a-year UK industry. For the purpose, the company intends to build a commercial demonstration facility in Scotland with the help of an EUR-31.25-million fund operated by the Department of Transport, it said.

Celtic Renewables, a spin-out firm from the Biofuel Research Centre at Edinburgh Napier University, hopes its work at the BBEPP to help produce the world’s first industrial samples of biobutanol derived from whisky production residues.

The Belgian pilot facility was established by the European Union (EU) to develop a sustainable biobased economy. It can convert biomass, starch, cellulose, vegetable oils, and agricultural waste into bioproducts, biomaterials and bioenergy.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.360)

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