Jericho Energy Ventures’ technology to be used for innovative hydrogen project

Led by Protium, the pilot project will see innovative hydrogen combustion technology installed to heat the stills used to create Bruichladdich’s renowned Scotch, as well as the company’s artisanal gin, The Botanist, thus removing a major contributor to the brand’s overall carbon emissions.

The announcement marks a significant step forward in Bruichladdich’s ambition to decarbonise its distillation process by 2025, with major funding secured to develop technology. The project will demonstrate the ability to switch from fossil fuels to sustainable hydrogen energy technology and is a vital step towards long-term decarbonisation.

The DCC™ operates with no smokestack and zero greenhouse gas emissions and was identified by the Food and Drink Federation in the 2020 Net Zero report as a key technology for decarbonisation; its successful deployment will provide an example for distilleries across the globe to follow suit in reducing their carbon footprint.

Dubbed HyLaddie, the project must navigate the installation of the technology within a fully operational Victorian distillery on the island of Islay, just off Scotland’s west coast. As a certified B Corp, Bruichladdich continually invests in its local community and hopes the project will demonstrate the capability of hydrogen to encourage commercialisation across Islay.

Green hydrogen provides a sustainable solution for the island’s remote location and infrastructure challenges, and once Phase 2 is completed, it is envisioned that hydrogen and oxygen will be produced from a larger commercial-scale electrolyser situated offsite that will operate alongside a new renewable energy project on the island.

The heating technology has the potential to be integrated into other distilleries on the island and, beyond distilling, hydrogen could be used to decarbonise road freight, aviation and other industrial processes. In keeping with Bruichladdich’s progressive practices, HyLaddie will also set a precedent and provide an operational example for similar-sized spirits producers across the world to up their own decarbonisation initiatives.

The funding of £2.65 million comes from the Green Distilleries Competition, funded through the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Net Zero Innovation Portfolio and follows an initial feasibility study completed in the spring of 2021. It will allow Protium to install an onsite Dynamic Combustion Chamber™ (DCC™), a zero-emission hydrogen boiler patented by Jericho Energy Ventures’ wholly owned subsidiary, Hydrogen Technologies LLC, and licenced to Protium’s subsidiary, Deuterium, as a mechanism to meet heating requirements.

Phase 2 will be completed by summer 2023, subject to government funding.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalhydrogenreview.com/hydrogen/24112021/jericho-energy-ventures-technology-to-be-used-for-innovative-hydrogen-project/