A family-owned whisky distillery within the central belt of Scotland, Falkirk Distillery, has joined forces with biotechnology firm MiAlgae in a bid to advance the usage of round financial system ideas within the whisky trade.
The deal is described as a milestone in reaching Falkirk’s intention of additional lowering its carbon and water footprint with cutting-edge expertise implementation.
Based over a decade in the past, the impartial Falkirk Distillery produces roughly 200,000 litres of spirit per 12 months.
The brand new settlement will see Falkirk’s whisky by-products processed at MiAlgae’s industrial demonstrator facility in Balfron, Stirlingshire. Making use of MiAlgae’s expertise as a round answer, the by-products can be used as feedstock to develop omega-3 wealthy microalgae as a nutritious animal feed ingredient – one thing which is presently produced by extracting oil from billions of untamed caught fish.
Fiona Stewart, Firm Director and Co-Founding father of Falkirk Distillery, mentioned: “Over the previous ten years, we’ve invested all the pieces into organising the distillery and creating an impressive, prime quality spirit. We’re completely delighted to have achieved this objective and now, our subsequent step is to change into greener and to strengthen our dedication to the atmosphere by having sustainable values embedded in our firm.
“Once we first spoke to MiAlgae, it was a breath of contemporary air. We all know that they can assist us to get the place we need to be as we scale up and discover methods to cut back our carbon and water footprint. While we offload our by-products and scale back waste ranges, MiAlgae will acquire the elements wanted to efficiently manufacture its omega-3 product, so it’s a win-win!”
The partnership between Falkirk Distillery and MiAlgae is now underway. An off-take settlement with transport firm Gogar, answerable for transferring all of the distillery’s waste merchandise off-site, has been agreed with MiAlgae.
Discussing their new relationship, Dr Johann Partridge, Operations Director at MiAlgae, mentioned: “Falkirk Distillery matches in completely with our technique and values, so we’re excited to have progressed this settlement with them. What actually stands out to us concerning the Falkirk group is their authenticity. It’s clear that they really feel strongly about lowering the distillery’s total influence on the world, they usually function on the slicing fringe of a greater and extra sustainable whisky trade.
“It’s nice to be working with an impartial distillery that really needs to make a distinction, and we’re wanting ahead to working with them on this impactful mission for years to return”
Fiona Stewart mentioned: “We at all times use the perfect of the perfect in our distillery, with yeast and barley, and artesian spring water used all through our processes. We’re delighted that along with MiAlgae, we had been in a position to get much more out of these treasured sources.”
Anna Graham, Head of Atmosphere, Science & Innovation on the Scotch Whisky Affiliation mentioned: “Securing a sustainable future is a central precedence of the Scotch Whisky trade, and the entire sector is dedicated to our refreshed sustainability technique which focuses on 4 key pillars to tackling local weather change throughout the provision chain: lowering emissions, utilizing water extra effectively, caring for the land, and taking part in our half within the round financial system. It’s at all times inspiring to see firms’ funding in modern sustainable options that bridge various these pillars, comparable to this collaboration between Falkirk Distillery and MiAlgae, and we sit up for seeing the mission’s progress because it strikes ahead.”
