17.08.20
£10m investment for UK’s distilleries to go green
The Government has announced £10m worth of funding for the distillery industry.
The funding is aimed to help distilleries cut down on their emissions by focusing on low-carbon fuels such as hydrogen, biofuel and repurposed waste to power their operations.
It is hoped that the money will cut CO2 emissions by one million tonnes, which is the equivalent of 100,000 cars being taken off the road.
The plan is inline the with the government’s ongoing commitments to become carbon neutral by 2050.
Energy and Clean Growth Minister, Kwasi Kwarteng, said:
“Our plan to deliver a carbon-neutral future doesn’t just mean new jobs in new industries but helping some of our oldest industries to play their part as well.
“We want to harness the tremendous innovation of our distilleries so customers can enjoy their favourite tipple in the knowledge they are helping us to tackle climate change.”
This news comes after the Hydrogen Advisory Council was launched back in July 2020.
The Council aims to identify and promote concrete actions required to enable the supply of low carbon hydrogen at scale for use across the energy system.
The UK distilleries industry grew by 20% in 2019, making it vital for such a quick-growing industry to be at the forefront of lower emissions manufacturing.
The distilling industry is dominated by business in Scotland and Northern Ireland, where the news has been welcomed.
Dagmar Droogsma, Director of Industry at the Scotch Whisky Association, said:
“The Scotch Whisky industry welcomed the new Green Distilling Fund announced in the March Budget as an important step on our sustainability journey. The use of innovative technology is among several approaches that the industry could adopt as it works towards net zero by 2045, as outlined in our recent net zero report.
“This Fund will provide us with the opportunity to put forward bids for demonstration projects for so-far untested technologies, helping the Scotch Whisky industry play its part in reaching Scotland’s emissions targets.”