Industry may raise a dram to possible £100m windfall from whisky-based fuel

The world’s first car running on a biofuel made from whisky residue has had its first successful test drive – and could start a £100 million industry in Scotland

Biobutanol is a new type of sustainable fuel designed to be a direct replacement for petrol and diesel.

The idea was developed by Edinburgh-based Celtic Renewables Ltd in cooperation with Tullibardine Distillery in Blackford, Perthshire.

And the fuel’s creators believe their whisky biofuel has huge global potential and could create an industry in Scotland worth £100m.

It is produced from draff – the sugar-rich kernels of barley which are soaked in water to facilitate the fermentation process necessary for whisky production.

The other main ingredient is pot ale, the copper-containing yeasty liquid left over following distillation.

Unlike other biofuels, biobutanol can be used as a direct replacement for road fuels and can be used in cars without the need for engine modification.

Celtic Renewables founder and president Professor Martin Tangney said the residue was of no value whatsoever to the whisky industry.

And after successfully testing the fuel on a Ford Fiesta, he said: “What we developed was a process to combine the liquid with the solid and used an entirely different traditional fermentation process called ABE and it makes the chemical called biobutanol.

“And that is a direct replacement, here and now, for petrol.”

Professor Tangney added: “It is fitting to do this historic drive in Scotland, which is famous not just for its world-renowned whisky but also for being a powerhouse for renewable energy.”

Tullibardine distillery manager John Torrance added: “Right from the outset when Celtic Renewables approached us we could see the game-changing potential of a new fuel created from our byproducts.”

Celtic Renewables recently received a £9m government grant to build a commercial demonstrator plant in Grangemouth that will be fully operational by 2019.

Almost 750,000 tonnes of draff and two billion litres of pot ale are produced by the malt whisky industry in Scotland every year.