Now I know it's not quite 'motoring' as we know it, and it most
certainly has nothing to do with rallying, but I think this news will be of
interest to whisky lovers who may have concerns about future supplies of their
favourite tipple.
Anyway, it appears that the 133-year-old independent family-owned Scotch
whisky distilling firm of William Grant
& Sons has taken a leaf out of Compton
Mackenzie's 1947 novel 'Whisky Galore'
or maybe they were bored one night and watched the 1949 black and white film of
the book.
The story
concerns the plight of the freighter SS Cabinet
Minister which runs aground on the Island of Todday and begins to sink.
Apparently the cargo is 50,000 cases of whisky and when the islanders hear of
this they set about rescuing the precious cargo. The whisky is then stashed in
caves but when the Revenue men become suspicious they start a search at which
point the islanders load up the lorry to remove the priceless commodity.
Of course,
the lorry runs out of petrol at which point one of the 'rescuers' has the
bright idea of pouring a few bottles into the fuel tank. Immediately the lorry
fires up and sets off like a rocket out-running the pursuit.
It maybe not
be quite as simple but that's what Glenfiddich are up to although you'll be relieved
to know that no actual whisky is used or 'wasted' in this process.
Working with truck manufacturer IVECO, the two companies are pioneering the
production of biomethane from the distilling operations, a first for the drinks
industry. To that end Glenfiddich has taken delivery of three Compressed
Natural Gas-powered IVECO Stralis NP 460 trucks.
William Grant & Sons’ engineers have created a new way to use its
distilling process by-products. By loading waste matter from the distillery
into an anaerobic digester, the company can capture the biogas given off as it
breaks down. This is subsequently cleaned and used as green, low-carbon,
low-particulate fuel for its new gas delivery trucks.
And there's more. Left-over solids can then be used to fertilise the
barley fields and enrich the soils through carbon sequestration, pulling CO2
away from the earth’s atmosphere and thus creating a circular economy. This
aligns the initiative with William Grant & Sons’ core values: ‘Be
sustainable. Be responsible and think long term’.
“It has taken more than a decade for Glenfiddich to become the first
distillery to process 100% of its waste residues on its own site, then to be
the first to process those residues into biogas fuels to power its trucks, and
finally to be the first to install a biogas truck fuelling station supplied by
our on-site renewable energy facility, " explained William Grant &
Sons’ Dufftown Site Leader, Kirsty Dagnan.
IVECO Heavy
Business-line Director, Gareth Lumsdaine added: “With our natural gas trucks,
we’re committed to transitioning the transport industry to a cleaner, greener
future.
If the process
helps bring great scotch along the way, then that is even better!”
I'll drink to
that!
