Scotch whisky maker Glenfiddich has begun to fuel its Iveco Stralis NP delivery trucks to run on low-emission biomethane made from waste and residues from its own whisky distilling process as part of a "closed loop" circular economy sustainability initiative, it said on Tuesday.
Glenfiddich said it has installed fueling stations at its Dufftown distillery in north-eastern Scotland that use technology developed by its parent company William Grant & Sons to convert its production waste and residues into an Ultra-Low Carbon Fuel (ULCF) gas that produces minimal carbon dioxide and other harmful emissions.
Stuart Watts, William Grant & Sons’ distilleries director, said: "It has taken more than a decade for Glenfiddich to become the first distillery to process 100 per cent of its waste residues on its own site, then to be the first to process those residues into biomethane fuel to power its trucks, and finally to be the first to install a biomethane truck fuelling station supplied by our on-site renewable energy facility.
"Across the entire production life cycle, the biogas reduces carbon dioxide (CO2e) by over 95 per cent and other harmful particulates and greenhouse gas emissions by up to 99 per cent when compared to diesel and other fossil fuels.
"Each truck will displace up to 250 tonnes of CO2e annually, which has the same environmental benefit as planting up to 4000 trees every year – the equivalent of displacing natural gas, a fossil fuel, from 112 households."
Mr Watts added: "We are proud of these renewable energy breakthroughs in our industry as we scale up the decarbonising benefits of this closed-loop process across our entire transport fleet."
The "Fuelled by Glenfiddich" initiative is the latest drive by the company to reduce the environmental impact of its production process.
Source: Reuters - The Northern Scot