Scottish Bioenergy

November 2011 - Chelsea Brain heads winning team at  Business Action Competition 2011.  Well done to Chelsea and her team at Newcastle!

April 2011-  We went to a Foreign Office and British Embassy sponsored roundtable in Madrid attended by HRH Prince Charles, accompanied by Camilla Parker (Duchess of Cornwall). HHHH The Prince and Princess of Asturias . Dr Michelle Stanley (pictured below in China) really got Prince Charles interested in the future of algae in the UK; she rocked in a very intimidating environment!

March 2011-  In negotiations for large scale ( 1.5 million liter ) system with Fortune 500 Company. 

March 2011-  Hosted Chinese delegation to foster collaboration between UK-China.  many thanks to Dr Michelle Stanley (KTN) and Doreen Reid (Scottish development International).  Also a special thank you to Minister of the Environment Roseanna Cunningham for inviting us to Parliament for a lovely luncheon.

September 2010  We got a piece in The Ecologist. Thank you to Claire Smith and Matthew Aylott. Long live the NNFCC

July 2010-We have launched the Whisky Distillers Consortium.If you're a distiller and do not have a username contact  dc[at]scottishbioenergy.com

May 2010- We were featured in the May issue of Institute of Brewing and Distilling magazine.  A huge 'Thank you' to Roger Putman; the editor.       

January 22-31, 2010 - Foreign Office Sends Scottish Bioenergy, Scottish Association of Marine Sciences ("SAMS") and Newcastle University to China for Algae Mission

From left  Peter Harrington (Foreign Office) Dr Michelle Stanley ( SAMS ) Dr Gary Caldwell ( Newcastle) David Van Alstyne ( Scottish Bioenergy )

We were invited to China with two of our colleagues; Scottish Association of Marine Sciences and Newcastle University.  There were very productive meetings with the Chinese Environmental Protection Department (EPD), several Universities and potential commercial partners. We went to 4 cities in the industrialised regions of South China and had the opportunity to see a variety of potential customers and commercial partners.  With the help of the Foreign Office and the EPD we crafted a framework for future collaborative work.  It's hoped that we'll be deploying small scale systems within the next few months.

We maintain that you really need to test systems, in-situ, using the local species and feeding them the local wastewater to determine the financial viability of the system ( through the sale of co-products).   We offered to donate some bench scale systems to the Universities to get the projects started and SAMS and Newcastle offered to help with consultation on identification and selection of the most promising species.

All the people we met were really lovely; the food was fantastic!  There is a real drive in China to tackle the environmental issues they're facing and we all left feeling that a China-UK team will soon emerge.  A big 'Thank you' to our sponsors and hosts during the visit and Happy New Year to our new friends in China.

December 2009 - Company completes important ( but unplanned)  destructive tests with favourable results

Scotland had pretty rough weather over the holidays. We had minus 12 degree weather and 2 weeks of snow.  The distillery shut down for 2 weeks, so there was no waste heat for the bioreactors.  It froze solid!  When it started to thaw we thought it was going to leak like mad.  The reactors had all swollen with the expansion of the ice. Much to our delight, the reactors, pipes and tanks all held together. It cost about £40 to replace a pump. Whew!  

October 5, 2009

The system is operational!  (see press release below)

Robin Harper, MSP officially launched the system.  It was a great day with interesting people from Industry, Government and Academia.                                            

Algae demonstrator project goes live at Glenturret

--- Green MSP Robin Harper will officially launch the ground-breaking alternative food, energy and CARBON CAPTURE system---

AN INNOVATIVE carbon capture demonstrator project which uses algae to convert carbon dioxide into proteins and oils at Scotland’s oldest working whisky distillery will today (October 5) be switched on by Green MSP Robin Harper.

Scottish Bioenergy Ventures (SBV) has built a reactor at the Glenturret distillery in Crieff – home to the award-winning Famous Grouse Experience – which will capture and recycle CO2 into high value protein and oil. 

St Cyrus-based SBV won a prestigious Shell Springboard award earlier this year for a trial of the innovate process capturing CO2  from the distillery's boiler exhaust and percolating it through algae reactors, converting it into protein and vitamin rich animal feed. The company will also trial a novel oil extraction system with the aim of creating biofuels from the algae. 

The algae reactors also successfully eliminated chemicals and captured copper from the wastewater, reducing even further the environmental impact of the distilling process and reducing costs.

David Van Alstyne, founder and Chief Executive of SBV, said: “Scottish Bioenergy Ventures is extremely grateful for the support and encouragement from The Edrington Group, Shell and SETN in backing this innovate demonstrator project.

“The results from the trials of the project were extremely encouraging and we are confident this demonstrator project will be a huge success and benefit not only the Glenturret distillery but also the Scotch whisky industry.

“In time Scottish Bioenergy Ventures plans to roll out the technology for use in other industries which emit CO2. The whole process is carbon negative and can play a large role in helping Scotland in its ambition to become a low carbon economy and leader in this field.”

Robin Harper MSP, co-convener of the Scottish Green Party, will flip the switch on the bioreactors. He said: “This is the most exciting technology I've seen in 20 years.  It's a system that works with nature and has absolutely huge potential. The payback period of three years is fantastic and I look forward to seeing this company grow.”

James Smith, The Chairman of Shell UK said "It is great to see Scottish Bioenergy reach this exciting launch stage. I hope the project is a huge success." 

Glenturret Production Manager Neil Cameron added: “We as a company have a strong commitment to protecting the environment and are always looking for new ways to minimise the impact of the distilling process. 

“The Famous Grouse, like all Scotch whiskies is a natural product. So it's really exciting to be working with nature to reduce our carbon emissions.”

Scottish Bioenergy Ventures was founded in 2007. Its innovative process saw it win in 2009 the Scottish region Shell Springboard award, which provides a financial boost to low carbon business ideas from across the UK. 

Glenturret, which was built in 1775, is the most popular distillery visitor attraction in Scotland with more than 100,000 tourists going through its doors during 2008.

Ends

For further information please contact Scottish Bioenergy Ventures founder and Chief Executive David Van Alstyne. 

Mobile No: 07738 714655

Email: david@scottishbioenergy.co.uk 

August 6, 2009   We had a great meeting with the crew and some close affiliates at the distillery. We're having a serious look at the revenue models and hoping to gain some additional insights in the next phase of discovery  e.g. how much co2 is actually captured and what can we get for the high protein / high oil algae.  We'll also be looking at ways to reduce the input energy required to to get the water out of the algae. The input energy must be a lot less than the energy / revenue values or it's just another exercise.  

August 3, 2009  The effluent tank reactors have been installed.  Many thanks to the people who helped with the construction including Neil Cameron and the crew at the distillery, Harry Maiden ( steel frame fabricator).  A very special thank you to Moley Campbell who designed a most beautiful system.  

July 10, 2009  We have been awarded a grant from The Scottish Environmental Technology Network to explore the use of algal co-products from the Glenturret reactor. We'll be growing and analyzing indigenous species of algae as a potential animal food supplement.  The species we have isolated are very high in protein, amino acids and minerals.  They're very robust ( being Scottish ) and have good prospects as a fish and cattle food additive.  Thanks to Colin Patterson,  Colin Cunningham and SETN  for their support

April 20, 2009  The Scotsman newspaper names company Director David Van Alstyne as one of the 50 "Green Crusaders". The Scotsman have joined forces with the Sustainable Development Commission Scotland to dig out the 50 people who are doing most to help the environment in their communities.

March 2, 2009   We had a nice article by Dick Winchester in the Press and Jounal Energy Supplement. The "P and J" is widely read by those in the energy sector and we really appreciate the exposure!  Link to article

February 23, 2009      Parliamentary Motion S3M-3478 Robin Harper: Congratulations to Scottish Bioenergy Cooperative Ventures Ltd

The Honourable Robin Harper, MSP made a motion in Parliament congratulating us. I met Mr Harper at the Springboard Awards. He is a genuinely nice guy and very enthusiastic and supportive. We really appreciate this gesture.  Thanks Mr Harper!

February 13, 2009 Scottish Bioenergy wins Shell Sprinboard Award

We won the Shell Springboard North Award!  We will compete the other regional winners at the National Shell Sprinboard Awards on March 3rd.
The £40 k grant will fill a capital equipment hole and allow us to build the largest bioreactor in the UK.

Thank you to the folks at Shell, Edrington Group and the Glenturret Distillery.....and, of course, to the Judges.

News Links

Scotsman Green List April 20, 2009

Herald article February 12, 2009

Shell Springboard Awards

New Energy Focus Article

February 1, 2009  Scottish Bioenergy Completes Successful Phase 1 Trials  (Click link below for complete story )

February 1, 2009 News Release.pdf  

The following images may be freely copied and distributed by members of the press. No credits required.

The Glenturret Distillery.  Prototypes were attached to the black cylindrical efflent tank on the right ( green panels) .

Below is a close-up of the reactors. The middle panel was fed CO2 and effluent from the distillery.

This is the UK's youngest inventor, Laylah Van Alstyne, with some of the early prototypes.  She is holding the very first prototype that she made with her co-inventor ( and Dad ). Ms. Van Alstyne is listed in the International Patent Office as co-inventor of the underlying technologies. She particularly enjoys monitoring the nitrogen and pH levels and making algae "potions".