<p>A Scottish biotech company has found a way of turning on its head the adage that drinking and driving should never mix – by developing a fuel for cars that uses the by-products of whisky-making.</p>.<p>Scotland's national tipple comprises barley, yeast, and water, and the manufacturing process leaves behind spent grains, known as draff, and a sugary liquid called pot ale.</p>.<p>This waste is often used as animal feed or even pumped into the sea, but it can also be converted to produce acetone, butanol, and ethanol -- chemicals used in everything from fuel and food production to medicine and cosmetics.</p>.<p>Known as ABE fermentation, that process was long considered uneconomical due to the cost of the raw materials used to produce the chemicals, a problem Celtic Renewables says it has solved by using organic waste.</p>.<p>"We can take residues from industries such as the whisky industry and convert them into high-value products, namely butanol, which is actually being used to power this car," company owner Martin Tangney said.</p>.<p>He spoke while driving through the Campsie Fells, north of Glasgow where, in less than two weeks' time, Britain will welcome global leaders to the United Nations climate summit, COP26.</p>.<p>For Tangney, that gathering has to be much more than just another exercise in setting targets.</p>.<p>"This has to be the COP where we stop talking about why we need to tackle climate change and tell everybody how: how we do it, how we pay for it, how's it going to happen. A roadmap. A strategy," he said.</p>.<p>Celtic Renewables sees itself as firmly part of that solution.</p>.<p>"We take the low-value residues that are left behind in making this masterpiece and we turn them into something of more value," Tangney said the previous day while cradling a glass of whisky in an Edinburgh pub.</p>.<p>"We bring sustainability to an iconic industry."</p>.<p>The company's nearby demonstration plant in Grangemouth can produce 1 million litres of sustainable biochemicals from 50,000 tons of draff and pot ale and other raw materials.</p>.<p>It plans to build five large-scale refineries worldwide in the next five years, and is calling for backing from governments and other investors. </p>
<p>A Scottish biotech company has found a way of turning on its head the adage that drinking and driving should never mix – by developing a fuel for cars that uses the by-products of whisky-making.</p>.<p>Scotland's national tipple comprises barley, yeast, and water, and the manufacturing process leaves behind spent grains, known as draff, and a sugary liquid called pot ale.</p>.<p>This waste is often used as animal feed or even pumped into the sea, but it can also be converted to produce acetone, butanol, and ethanol -- chemicals used in everything from fuel and food production to medicine and cosmetics.</p>.<p>Known as ABE fermentation, that process was long considered uneconomical due to the cost of the raw materials used to produce the chemicals, a problem Celtic Renewables says it has solved by using organic waste.</p>.<p>"We can take residues from industries such as the whisky industry and convert them into high-value products, namely butanol, which is actually being used to power this car," company owner Martin Tangney said.</p>.<p>He spoke while driving through the Campsie Fells, north of Glasgow where, in less than two weeks' time, Britain will welcome global leaders to the United Nations climate summit, COP26.</p>.<p>For Tangney, that gathering has to be much more than just another exercise in setting targets.</p>.<p>"This has to be the COP where we stop talking about why we need to tackle climate change and tell everybody how: how we do it, how we pay for it, how's it going to happen. A roadmap. A strategy," he said.</p>.<p>Celtic Renewables sees itself as firmly part of that solution.</p>.<p>"We take the low-value residues that are left behind in making this masterpiece and we turn them into something of more value," Tangney said the previous day while cradling a glass of whisky in an Edinburgh pub.</p>.<p>"We bring sustainability to an iconic industry."</p>.<p>The company's nearby demonstration plant in Grangemouth can produce 1 million litres of sustainable biochemicals from 50,000 tons of draff and pot ale and other raw materials.</p>.<p>It plans to build five large-scale refineries worldwide in the next five years, and is calling for backing from governments and other investors. </p>