Thompson Bros at Dornoch Distillery Teaming Up with HEATEN to Build One of the Most Energy-Efficient Whisky Distilleries in the World

HEATEN’s high-temperature HeatBooster HBL4-W/W plays a vital part in this concept, supplying 1 MW_th of clean process heat for whisky production. The HeatBooster will run off-grid, entirely solar-powered, and will upgrade medium-grade waste heat into 110–120 °C hot water.

Brothers Simon Thompson and Philip Thompson founded Dornoch Distillery in 2016. They’re aiming to reimagine how whisky can be produced more sustainably. The HeatBooster installation is part of their plan around a new facility. The upcoming Struie Distillery is designed to operate with Net Zero with minimal offsetting.

By replacing conventional heat with recovered energy, the project will target an energy intensity of below 3 kWh per liter of pure alcohol (LPA), compared with an industry average of 7.5–8 kWh/LPA. The HeatBooster HBL4-W/W will capture 70–82 °C return water from the distillery process and lift it efficiently to 90–120 °C, providing steady, high-temperature heat without combustion. The initial unit will be sized to support 250,000 to 300,000 LPA in primarily off-grid operation; with supplementary renewable energy, the site will be capable to scale capacity to 600,000 LPA.

“We hope to demonstrate technologies and strategies to achieve a production energy cost that is lower than the best fossil fuel systems, reducing the friction to achieving Net Zero in Single Malt Scotch Whisky production.” said Simon Thompson of Thompson Bros at Dornoch Distillery.

“Passion for whisky meets passion for clean heat.” said Dr. Bernd Loeser, CEO of HEATEN. “Together, we’re shaping whisky that honors tradition and respects the future of our planet.”

The whisky industry is energy-intensive; therefore, demonstrating a viable model for very low-carbon production aligns with broader consumer interest in environmentally responsible luxury goods (including spirits).