Grangemouth's new era - from whisky waste to green chemicals with Celtic Renewables

Celtic Renewables takes by-products and waste from the food, drink and agriculture industries, including by-products from whisky distillation, and turns them into high-value green chemicals, bioacetone and biobutanol. Its patented technology is aimed at reducing dependence on fossil fuels and cutting the carbon footprint of everyday products, such as medicines and cosmetics.

The venture, which began as a spin-out from Edinburgh Napier University, has now released the first tanker load of green chemicals from its Grangemouth facility, marking the beginning of regular shipments. The industrial-scale commercial demonstrator plant was made possible through £60 million public and private sector investment, a third of which has come from Scottish Enterprise.

Mark Simmers, chief executive of Celtic Renewables, said the Caledon Green plant was underpinning efforts to scale-up and commercialise the technology globally. He told The Scotsman that the journey from a university project to becoming a manufacturing-scale operation had “not been easy”, with the business now at a “key inflection point”.

“Raising the money and getting from what was a test tube in a lab to hundreds of thousands of litres of fermentation is sometimes hard to believe,” he said. “What we have in Grangemouth now represents almost two decades of dedication and determination, supported by forward-thinking investors.

“We are now looking to scale up in Scotland and potentially Ireland first and then think globally. We are working on four next-stage, larger projects where we will still be heavily involved in the infrastructure development and operation. That will be predominantly looking at byproducts of whisky production but also moving into the yeast production industry.”

Simmers, who came on board more than 13 years ago alongside scientific founder Professor Martin Tangney, when the venture was being spun out from Napier, said the next steps in the growth journey would involve significant investment.

“Each of these projects represents about £100m of investment. We are currently speaking to a range of investors and lenders who can back these projects but that’s a much easier proposition because we have learnt all the lessons of scaling the technology and working out what works, and particularly what doesn’t work. We can then apply that and derisk those opportunities.”

Celtic Renewables has a headcount that currently stands at about 50 with an aim to grow that to 70 by the end of this year. Each of the next-phase projects is likely to employ at least 50 people, the firm’s CEO noted. “Our immediate growth plans should see us going from about 50 to 300 people over the next four or five years”, he added.

The news is also a boost for a town that has been hit by plant closures and job losses of late.

“It’s hugely disappointing that the petrochemicals side has ended up where it’s at,” Simmers said. “But that does also present an opportunity for our sector of the market. You’ve got land and facilities where we could potentially deploy our technology here in Grangemouth but at a much bigger scale and that’s something we are looking at as a parallel strategic opportunity.”

A cross-party House of Lords Science and Technology Committee report has highlighted the need for urgent action to turbocharge investment in engineering biology and support scale-up companies in biotechnology. Celtic Renewables is said to be attracting considerable interest now that shipments of green chemicals are leaving the Grangemouth plant - strengthening the company’s determination to scale-up production and deploy its technology globally.

Simmers was speaking as Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes toured the biorefinery plant. She hailed Celtic Renewables as a “great example of the talent, energy and commitment which will ensure Scotland plays an important global role in reaching net zero targets”.

Forbes added: “The Scottish Government published its green industrial strategy because we recognised the importance of using this country’s abundant natural resources to deliver economic growth, create jobs and improve lives.

“In partnership with industry, community and workforce representatives across the Grangemouth Future Industry Board, we are working to unlock the significant opportunities for Grangemouth’s transition to net zero - and it’s great to see a demonstration from Celtic Renewables on how that is being achieved.”

Adrian Gillespie, chief executive of Scottish Enterprise, said: “Celtic Renewables is a fantastic example of a home-grown success story that has gone from pioneering university research team to an exporting business planning its next stage of growth. Scottish Enterprise continues to support the company’s innovative approach to green chemicals production as it looks to the future.

“Industrial biotechnology is an industry in which Scotland has global strengths. By backing the bold ambitions of companies like Celtic Renewables we aim to transform Scotland’s economy, creating good quality, higher paid jobs across the country.”

Simmers added: “Scottish Enterprise first backed us 16 years ago when we were conducting lab-scale research and has continued to provide support as we have grown and broken new ground. It shows real vision and belief in our potential.

“We are grateful to the Scottish Government for its commitment to encouraging innovation and supporting scale-up businesses like ours that are working towards a greener future. As Scotland works towards its 2045 net zero target we are helping that transition to a net zero, nature positive world through defossilisation.”