Two Cornish businesses have today been announced as winners in the first phase of the Government’s Green Distilleries competition.
The £10 million fund has been set up to help UK distilleries go green by switching to low carbon fuels.
Seventeen distilleries from across the country are set to receive funding in this first phase, including two from Cornwall – Bennamann Ltd, which uses fugitive methane as fuel, and Cornish Geothermal Distillery Company (CGDC), which has plans to create a geothermal distillery.
Bennamann has been awarded £47k, while CGDC is in line to receive £75k.
The funding will help prevent pollution equivalent to taking 200,000 cars off the road.
Energy and Clean Growth Minister, Kwasi Kwarteng, said: “Building back greener from the pandemic is something we can all raise a toast to.
“Every business can play a part in the green industrial revolution and this funding will allow UK distilleries to lead the way by making their production cleaner while also creating jobs.”
In 2019, the UK distilleries industry grew by 20%, highlighting the opportunity for the sector to be at the heart of the UK’s green and resilient recovery from coronavirus.
CGDC founder Matt Clifford said: “As an ambitious, start-up distillery project, aiming to get everything sustainably right from the word go, we are overwhelmed and beyond grateful to be amongst the highest beneficiaries of the Government’s Green Distillery award: it’s an endorsement and an understanding at the very highest level of what we aim to do.”
