Whisky distillery achieves zero-carbon process heat

SCOTTISH DISTILLERY Annandale has commissioned a zero-carbon high-temperature heat system, in a first-of-a-kind project delivered by clean heat technology company Exergy3.

The project delivers high-temperature process heat of up to 1,200°C using low- and zero-carbon electricity, marking a major breakthrough in the affordable decarbonisation of industrial heat, which currently accounts for around 18% of global CO2 emissions.

The project was delivered by Exergy3 in partnership with Annandale Distillery and Cochran, supported by funding from the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero through its Net Zero Innovation Portfolio.

Low-carbon whisky production landmark

The Dumfries-based Annandale Distillery aims to become one of the first distilleries in the world to produce low-carbon whisky. Exergy3’s technology supports this ambition and forms part of Annandale Distillery’s 12-step decarbonisation plan, which also includes bottling and maturing whisky on site to reduce road miles, switching to electric vehicles where possible, and exploring alternative waste-reuse options for spent grain and carbon dioxide.

"This is a first, not just for the whisky industry or Scotland, but globally," said David Thomson, cofounder of Annandale Distillery. "Heat-intensive industries like ours are under increasing pressure to decarbonise, and solutions that can deliver high-temperature heat without fossil fuels have been hard to find. The fact that it does so economically, while also helping tackle the rising costs of balancing the electricity system, makes it incredibly powerful."

Turning renewable electricity into industrial heat

Exergy3’s modular thermal energy storage system converts renewable electricity into thermal energy and stores it at ultra-high temperatures. The system then discharges hot air at temperatures between 50°C and 1,200°C, depending on industrial requirements. This makes it widely applicable across industries including food, drink, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, fertiliser, and cement. At Annandale Distillery, the system delivers hot air of up to 530°C, which is turned into green steam by a Cochran boiler and used in the distilling process.

Industrial boiler manufacturer Cochran was chosen to supply the boiler. "Across industry, we see growing interest in alternatives to fossil fuels as companies work towards their carbon reduction goals. One of the biggest challenges has been finding solutions that are both practical and economically feasible, but this technology shows that it’s possible," stated Eric Daglish, business development manager at Cochran.

What makes the solution particularly distinctive is its use of renewable electricity that would otherwise be curtailed. In this project, the system uses wind power, which is the most abundant renewable energy source in Scotland. £2.7bn was spent on balancing the UK grid in 2024, and this figure could double by 2030. Exergy3’s solution captures that otherwise wasted electricity and converts it into readily available zero-carbon, low-cost heat.

Reducing curtailment costs

"Beyond whisky, our solution could halve global industrial CO2 emissions, while being cheaper than gas and reducing rapidly rising curtailment costs that are paid for by the consumer," said Markus Rondé, CEO of Exergy3. 

With a physical footprint no larger than an average garage and requiring only minimal infrastructure, the solution is extremely compact and quick to install. Its modular design means that it can be commissioned within a matter of months, significantly faster than alternative technologies such as hydrogen and carbon capture. It is scalable to the onsite grid connection, allowing sites to partially decarbonise while grid reinforcements are made. It can also operate alongside the existing heat system and run only when it is cheaper than gas.  

Each module is highly energy-dense, offering more than 10MWh of storage capacity, round-trip efficiency of up to 96%, and thermal losses of less than 1% per 24 hours, making the system highly efficient. At Annandale Distillery, three modules totalling 30MWh storage capacity supply hot air to the 3MW Cochran boiler which converts it into green steam at 10 bar pressure.

For more information:

www.exergy3.com