Green chemicals producer Celtic Renewables joins five other specially chosen UK businesses for Innovate UK’s delegation to east Asia
Scottish green chemical producer Celtic Renewables has embarked on a mission to Japan as part of a UK delegation organised by Innovate UK’s Global Business Innovation Programme (GBIP).
The company, which is a spin-out from Edinburgh Napier University, is one of just six businesses chosen from a long list of applicants to join the delegation - and the only company from Scotland to be included.
The Innovate UK programme aims to help cutting-edge UK businesses grow and access new markets worldwide.
Celtic Renewables technology, which was developed by Professor Martin Tangney at Edinburgh Napier University, uses locally sourced whisky by-products and agricultural waste to produce bio-acetone, bio-ethanol and bio-butanol at its biorefinery in Grangemouth.
Celtic Renewables’ green chemicals have a wide range of international applications in chemical engineering and consumer goods manufacturing. These solvents have the same properties as their fossil fuel-based equivalents and are sustainable alternatives that can be used in the same products. They cut by 65 percent the carbon footprint of thousands of household goods, from cleaning products to cosmetics, with a minimal impact on the manufacturing process and without consumers needing to change their buying habits.
This month’s innovation visit comes as part of an ongoing relationship between Scotland and Japan’s industrial sectors. Last year, in September 2024, Celtic Renewables welcomed more than 20 delegates from a wide variety of Japanese chemical and engineering businesses to its facility, following on from a previous visit at ENU by the Secretary for the Environment in the Japanese Government. This visit is the first step in the firm's growing global footprint, with further international partnerships expected later in the year.
Innovate UK identified Japan as a prime destination for a trade mission given its status as the world’s third-largest economy by GDP. The country is an attractive market for UK engineering, chemistry and biology companies as a result of the Japanese government’s recent decision to expand its bio-based economy to over $650 billion by 2030. Japan also serves as the gateway to the rest of the east Asia region.
Professor Martin Tangney OBE, Founder of Celtic Renewables, said, “Scotland has a proud tradition of scientific innovation, and this visit is a chance to showcase that innovation while learning from Japan's manufacturing expertise.
“Japan is a global leader in rapidly scaling technology and advanced manufacturing, and the GBIP presents a prime opportunity for us to learn how to successfully scale our green chemicals and help to defossilise the wider manufacturing sector.
“We believe international cooperation is essential to reducing fossil fuel consumption globally. Trade missions like this visit to Japan create new business partnerships and new possibilities for innovation and growth with like-minded companies.
“Together we can forge low-carbon, low-waste processes and supply chains for a more circular, more sustainable future.”
Katsutoshi Takeda, Consul General of Japan in Edinburgh, added, “Celtic Renewables has hosted important delegations from Japan with the Consulate, with the delegates learning with great interest about the company’s pioneering and innovative alternative solutions.
"I hope that Celtic Renewables’ participation in the innovation mission will help it build on its relationship with Japan, furthering Scotland and Japan’s strong co-operation on sustainability.”
A spokesperson for Innovate UK, which is hosting the GBIP companies as part of the UK government’s participation at BioJapan, commented: “Engineering biology is a transformative, cross-sector technology with the potential to tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges. It is also recognised as a frontier technology in the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy.
"By supporting innovative companies like Celtic Renewables to Japan through the Department of Science Innovation and Technology funded Global Business Innovation Programme (GBIP), Innovate UK is helping UK businesses build international leadership in this field.
"These global partnerships have the potential to drive the opening of new markets for innovative solutions and accelerate their adoption into global, commercially viable applications."
Top picture: (L-R) Jodie Shaw, International Project Manager,Innovate UK; Prof Martin Tangney OBE, Founder Celtic Renewables; Sasan Fouladi-Pour, Head of Engineering Biology, Department for Business and Trade
Bottom picture: Celtic Renewables' Grangemouth refinery