Collaboration
Collaborating with other science and technology providers to bring long-term benefit to the industry
SWRI acts as a hub for collaboration with other experts and organisations to make scientific and technological advances that will benefit the Scotch Whisky industry and extend the work that we do in-house. We collaborate with scientists in universities and other research institutes. The establishment of networks across the UK and European science base has resulted in large investments by government and universities into areas of fundamental importance for the distilling industry. This allows industry research objectives to be pursued at the cutting edge of academic science.
We also work with technology providers and other industry experts to access specific knowledge outside our expertise. We participate in scientific networks, such as the Association of Innovation, Research & Technology Organisations (AIRTO) and the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and technology developed in other sectors to the distilling industry.
We welcome approaches from organisations and individuals to collaborate on research that will benefit the Scotch Whisky industry and the wider activities of our member companies. The case studies below are examples of different types of collaboration we have been involved in.
Case Studies
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BARIToNE (Barley Industrial Training Network) is a £3.6m BBSRC and industry funded seven-year Collaborative Training Partnership (CTP) led by SWRI. This is funding 30 PhDs to study sustainable barley science and will create the next generation of barley scientists. SWRI is one of the 18 […]
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This project, funded by Zero Waste Scotland, was a collaboration between ourselves, IBioIC and three technology providers (Horizon Proteins, MiAlgae, and BioPower Technologies). The three companies each had different ideas for creating valuable products from the draff and pot ale residues from Scotch Whisky production. […]
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Quick and accurate analytical techniques to detect unsafe methanol concentrations are a priority for the alcohol beverage industry, to protect both industry reputation and consumer health. Although levels of methanol are low in cereal-based spirits such as Scotch Whisky, unsafe concentrations can be found in […]