The case for hydrogen in distilling
Scotch whisky is produced at over 140 active distilleries across Scotland. The sector is large, energy-intensive, and overwhelmingly reliant on fossil fuels. Until the 1950s and 1960s, most whisky was produced by direct coal firing, a practice that created conditions unique to direct flame contact with copper stills, producing temperature variations that cannot be replicated with steam heating. Modern regulation and cleaner-burning fuels ended that era.
The WhiskHy programme reopens it. Green hydrogen burns cleanly and at high temperature, making it the only credible fuel for reviving direct-firing practices while meeting net zero commitments. Suntory Global Spirits, owner of some of Scotland's most celebrated distilleries, identified this opportunity and brought Supercritical in to solve the technical challenge.
Zero-emission H₂ direct firing offers a unique opportunity to revive traditional practices that were once core to crafting Scotland's world-renowned spirit.
WhiskHy programme team
Why high-pressure hydrogen matters
Hard-to-abate sectors like food and beverage manufacturing require energy systems with specific characteristics. They need high-grade energy on demand, operate continuously with no tolerance for seasonal supply variation, require system response comparable to existing fossil fuel systems, and ideally need energy costs that match or beat incumbents.
Conventional electrolysers deliver low-pressure hydrogen. Every kilogram then requires expensive, unreliable compression before it can be stored or used. Supercritical's electrolyser outputs hydrogen at up to 220 bar directly, eliminating the compressor entirely. For a distillery, that means 189 times less storage volume required than at ambient pressure.
High-pressure output direct from the electrolyser means no downstream compressor. For distilleries, this translates to dramatically smaller storage footprints, lower capital cost, and greater operational simplicity.
The programme
The WhiskHy programme is a Phase 2 project under the UK Government's Green Distilleries Competition, supported by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. It brings together Supercritical Solutions, Suntory Global Spirits, and The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) to demonstrate on-site green hydrogen production and use at a working distillery.
The programme is delivering world firsts in hydrogen storage and direct-firing at distillery scale. The results will establish a replicable blueprint for decarbonising distilleries across Scotland and beyond.
Electrolyser specification and integration design for distillery-scale hydrogen demand, storage, and direct-firing application.
On-site commissioning of the high-pressure electrolyser system at a Suntory Global Spirits facility.
Live operation of hydrogen direct firing in distillery production conditions, with performance monitoring and data collection.
Publication of findings and development of a replicable model for wider deployment across the Scotch whisky sector.
The broader opportunity
The 606,000 tonnes of CO₂e represented by Scotland's whisky sector is a decarbonisation opportunity of genuine scale. The WhiskHy programme is the proof point. If it works here, the same model applies to breweries, food processing, ceramics, glass, and any other industrial heat application where direct firing is currently fossil-fuelled.
If you operate a site with industrial heat demand and want to understand whether green hydrogen is viable, we want to hear from you.