Insights

ITPENERGISED CONSORTIUM WINS UK GOVERNMENT GREEN DISTILLERIES FUNDING

environmental social and governance

ITPEnergised, in a consortium with Protium Green Solutions, has received more than £70,000 in UK Government Green Distilleries funding to complete a feasibility study on incorporating innovative hydrogen combustion technology into Bruichladdich Distillery. Part of the BEIS Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP), the project is the next step in assessing the application of alternative fuels at the Bruichladdich distillery.

Our role

From strategic advisory and project preparation to technical services during feasibility, design, construction, repurposing and decommissioning, ITPEnergised’s global coverage, international specialists and ‘trusted advisor’ approach have earned us an outstanding reputation with clients across sectors, technologies and geographies.

ITPEnergised has worked with Bruichladdich since 2019 and Protium since early 2020. The competition for BEIS funding to explore the deployment of an innovative hydrogen technology was a perfect opportunity to bring together clients across our network and create a convincing technical proposition. The competition is understood to have provoked huge interest and numbers of applications, so the team are rightly proud to have been named as a successful applicant.

Project HyLaddie

Hydrogen presents a significant opportunity for the whisky industry and the island of Islay itself, which currently uses fuel oil to meet its heating demand. Due to the remote location of many distilleries across Scotland, hydrogen implementation is a critical step forward in enabling producers to work towards net zero and in ensuring their operations can benefit from on‐site power sources that are otherwise hindered by pre‐existing grid limitations.

The feasibility project, named HyLaddie, has been funded by the Small Business Research Initiative Green Distilleries Competition and will explore the deployment of an on‐site Deuterium Dynamic Combustion Chamber (DCC™) as a viable mechanism to meet Bruichladdich’s heating requirements.

Together with Protium and Deuterium, ITPEnergised will investigate optimal system design and how the DCC™ can be integrated into the Victorian distillery. As with any project undertaken at Bruichladdich, the feasibility study must consider the preservation of centuries old equipment, the safeguarding of spirit quality and the impact on the local community.

DCC technology

Intended for completion in the spring of 2021, the study is included within phase one of the NZIP Green Distilleries competition. Positive results will see the team target phase two of funding in order to install the DCC™ and assess its industrial application. This proof of concept could be the vote of confidence required for similar-sized distilleries and other food and beverage manufacturers  to join Bruichladdich’s ambitions of net zero. Certainly, it would demonstrate feasibility for those retrofitting operations to become more sustainable as opposed to being ‘born-green’.

This project marks the inaugural deployment of DCC™ in the UK. This revolutionary technology generates high temperature steam, using only oxygen and hydrogen that is combusted in a vacuum. The process creates water, which can be recycled and crucially, eliminates emissions of greenhouse gases (CO2) and oxides of nitrogen and sulphur (NOx and SOx)

Reactions from the team

The project follows a series of significant funding announcements from the UK Government, whose economic plans continue to support hydrogen projects. Alongside a dedicated hydrogen strategy expected in 2021, £100 billion of funds have been earmarked for spending across the UK with some likely to be awarded to green hydrogen and other clean tech projects.

Jonny Clark, Managing Director of ITPEnergised, said ‘’We’re excited to be working with Protium, Deuterium and Bruichladdich Distillery on this ground‐breaking project, supporting Bruichladdich and the wider whisky sector in achieving their net zero ambitions.’’

Gavin Bollan, Technical Director for ITPEnergised added This is the culmination of a fantastic year of projects with both Protium and Bruichladdich. It is a real privilege to be working with these forward-thinking partners on this first application of DCC technology in the UK. It could be a game changer for low carbon, low air pollution thermal power.”

Ruth Fain, Industrial and Manufacturing Sector Lead for ITPEnergised comments “Decarbonising heat is a major challenge facing food and drink manufacturers and this ground breaking project, which we hope will provide proof of concept for hydrogen as a process fuel source, is hugely exciting.”

Christopher Jackson, CEO of Protium and Director of Deuterium, said “We are delighted to be given the opportunity to demonstrate how green hydrogen can deliver a zero emission heat solution for Bruichladdich. Green hydrogen will play a key role in decarbonising the UK manufacturing sector, particularly food & drink where Protium is well established in designing green hydrogen for industrial heat solutions. Together with ITPEnergised and Deuterium, we are eager to demonstrate how hydrogen can be used by Bruichladdich to reduce their footprint and emissions; and look forward to helping them spearhead innovation in a sector that is so rich in tradition and history.”

Allan Logan, Operations and Production Director of Bruichladdich, comments “At Bruichladdich Distillery, we understand that there is real potential for a hydrogen‐based solution to decarbonise our industry. We are thrilled to have the support of Protium, Deuterium and ITPEnergised to help us assess the feasibility of employing a hydrogen fuel switching solution for our distillery – a move we hope benefits the broader industry.”

Project HyLaddie’s initial feasibility stage will be undertaken in early 2021, and we hope to bring further updates later in the year.

Please contact ruth.fain@itpenergised.com for further details.