Scottish whisky distilleries adopt pragmatic hydrogen solutions amid decarbonisation shift

Hydrogen is no longer being sold as a cure-all for industrial decarbonisation, but it is finding a narrower, more pragmatic role in sectors that are hard to electrify, including Scotch whisky. That shift in tone was evident at the recent All-Energy conference in Glasgow, where Hydrogen Energy Association chief executive Emma Guthrie said the market had entered “a period of realism”, while Offshore Energies UK argued that hydrogen would now be used in more selective applications rather than across the board.

For distillers in the Highlands and islands, that more limited outlook still matters. Arbikie Distillery has installed a green hydrogen electrolyser as part of its push to become what it calls the world’s first climate-positive distillery, while Highland Park in Orkney says it is targeting net zero by 2045 and plans to cut emissions by half by 2030. Highland Park also says a heat-recovery system has reduced the need for coal-based fuels and can cut carbon dioxide emissions by up to 20%, saving more than 1,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent each year.

The most ambitious industrial model is the Cromarty Hydrogen Project, backed by ScottishPower, Storegga and major whisky producers including Glenmorangie, Whyte & Mackay and Diageo. According to project material from the Cromarty Firth Green Freeport, the scheme is designed to produce renewable hydrogen by electrolysis using clean power, then store and distribute it to help decarbonise distilling and, potentially, wider industrial and transport uses. Iberdrola, which owns ScottishPower, has separately described a similar effort in the Highlands as a route to produce sustainable Scotch whisky with green hydrogen.

That industrial interest comes as the wider hydrogen sector has cooled from the exuberance that followed the UK government’s 2021 hydrogen strategy. Enrique Cornejo, energy policy director at Offshore Energies UK, said at All-Energy that expectations had been pared back as firms and policymakers recognised the costs, power requirements and subsidy levels involved in scaling green hydrogen. The trade body now sees a stronger case for hydrogen in clusters, for backup power, for some high-temperature industrial processes and for linked carbon capture projects.

Cornejo said Scotland still has an advantage because of its wind resource and its industrial geography. In his view, surplus renewable electricity could be turned into hydrogen and stored more effectively than power alone, particularly if production is tied to offshore wind and to planned carbon capture infrastructure such as Acorn. He also argued that export markets, including Germany, could create future demand for Scottish hydrogen.

The challenge is that commercial momentum has not yet matched the rhetoric. The UK government has shortlisted eight Scottish projects under its second Hydrogen Allocation Round, but it has still not named the winners, and several schemes elsewhere have already stalled. Suntory Global Spirits has abandoned a £60 million hydrogen plan at Auchentoshan after failing to secure support in the second round, underscoring how dependent the sector remains on public backing.

Even so, the whisky sector continues to offer one of the clearest industrial use cases for hydrogen in Scotland. For distillers facing pressure to cut emissions without compromising process heat or product quality, the fuel is increasingly being viewed not as a universal answer, but as one part of a broader decarbonisation toolkit alongside efficiency gains, electrification, renewable power and, in some cases, carbon capture.