Whisky giants Glenfiddich have started converting their fleet of delivery trucks to be able to run on low-emission biogas created from waste generated during the whiskymaking process. The Speyside distillery, located in the Northeast Scottish highlands, has set up specialized fuelling stations at its distillery for its trucks as part of a closed loop sustainability initiative.
The biofuel is developed from spent barley grains, known as draff within the industry. Usually, these grains are pelletized and sold as high-protein cattle feed. However, using an anaerobic digester, liquid waste from the whiskymaking process is fed to bacteria in the digester to produce biogas that is then converted into fuel.
So far, three trucks have been converted that transport Glenfiddich’s spirit from production at its Dufftown facility to bottling and packaging, covering four sites across central and western Scotland that belong to Glenfiddich’s parent company, William Grant & Sons.
In the breaking story from Reuters, Glenfiddich distillery director Stuart Watts explained why the distillery was going in this sustainability direction:
"The thought process behind this was 'what can we do that's better for us all?’”
According to Glenfiddich, each truck will reduce its carbon footprint by 250 tons of CO2 a year. They are converted vehicles made by truckmaker Iveco that normally run on liquified natural gas. Using the biogas cuts emissions by 95% compared to diesel and other fossil fuels, and similarly reduces harmful particulates by up to 99%.
Watts said the technology could be expanded to the rest of its 20 trucks, as well as to the fleets of other companies.
The announcement from Glenfiddich is probably not the last of this kind to come from the Scotch whisky industry. Its trade body, the Scotch Whisky Association, has announced a net-zero target across the industry by 2040.
