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New beginnings
Biotech titans , Celtic Renewables , set the standard for sustainable chemical manufacturing
For over a decade , Celtic Renewables has been leading the chemical manufacturing sector toward a greener future . Since its last feature in Manufacturing Today , the company has opened the doors to its very first production plant . From concept to design , this groundbreaking facility is ten years in the making , as Chief Executive Officer , Mark Simmers , begins : “ Our plant is the first of its kind , which means we faced a number of challenges along the way . Nevertheless , we persevered , and in mid-2022 were able to complete the project . Commissioning went on into early 2023 , and since then we ’ ve been fully operational . It ’ s a huge accomplishment , and an incredibly exciting time for the company .
“ Today , the Grangemouth plant can produce green chemicals on an industrial scale . Our primary output chemicals are bio-butanol and bioacetone — we ’ ve been successfully shipping the chemicals out to customers , and as a result we ’ re now officially a revenue generating business .
“ Scaling up a biotechnology business requires a lot of stakeholder engagement and support . We ’ ve given a lot of our energy over the past few years to developing partner relationships . Up until now , we ’ ve been selling an idea . There ’ s a real sense of accomplishment in making that dream a reality and demonstrating the power of our initial concept . Now that we have the facility up and running , we have the momentum we need to jump confidently into our future plans .”
The concept behind Celtic Renewables has undergone several evolutions over the last decade , as Mark discusses : “ At the beginning of our journey , we wanted to market bio-butanol to the road fuel market . However , as we continued our research , and began working more closely with customers , we realized that the materials we were producing had even greater value . We decided to re-brand and began marketing to the chemicals market instead .
“ That involved creating a new logo , and a slightly different brand identity . We wanted our voice to reflect the sustainable values that underlie our work , so we came up with the tagline : ‘ Leading the green chemical revolution .’
“ In order to produce everyday consumer products , the chemical industry relies heavily on fossil fuels . Over-reliance on these kinds of resources isn ’ t sustainable , and so we wanted to
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