Protium Green Solutions, the UK‐based green hydrogen energy services company, has received more than £70,000 in funding to complete a feasibility study on incorporating innovative hydrogen combustion technology into Bruichladdich Distillery, Islay. Part of the BEIS Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP), the project is the next step in assessing the application of alternative fuels at island-based Bruichladdich.
As the only Scotch distillery to be B Corp certified, Bruichladdich is validated as a business that balances profit and purpose. Building on their achievements thus far, they aim to decarbonise their production process by 2025.
Feasibility studies into alternative green energy solutions have therefore been underway for some time. Exploring the potential of those sources will continue amidst this new testing, with the opportunity to be industry-leaders in hydrogen readily embraced.
Hydrogen presents a significant opportunity for the whisky industry and Islay itself, which currently uses fuel oil to meet its heating demand. Due to the remote location of many distilleries across Scotland, its 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 ITPEnergised and Deuterium, Protium 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.
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 any emission of CO2, NOx and SOx.
