Ahascragh Distillery in Co.Galway has sourced €500,000 funding from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland to make its facility as eco-friendly as possible.

Located in the heart of the small East Galway village, the previously derelict mill complex is being transformed, and the company is gearing up for distillation by the end of the year.

Founders Gareth and Michelle McAllister said they have a drive to distil some of the first zero-emissions spirits in Ireland and change the traditional energy source for Irish whiskey production.

The SEAI funding is being awarded to the company through the EXEED programme, aimed at organisations that are planning an energy efficient investment project.

SEAI CEO William Walsh said the EXEED process allows significant energy users to go beyond design norms and ensure that energy efficiency and renewable opportunities are maximised at the earliest stage of a project.

In Association with

“This project will demonstrate exemplary practices in terms of utilising renewable heating in a high temperature application,” he added.

The Distillery engaged FDT Consulting Engineers and Project Managers Ltd to undertake the energy efficient design review of the proposed distillery.

Decarbonisation specialist Astatine developed and installed the technology that the venture claims has delivered substantial reductions in utility demands through using thermal storage and optimal heat recovery.

Heat will be provided to the distillery through heat pumps, which Ahascragh says will result in energy inputs at one-third the level of traditional technology.

Eamon Ryan, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, commended the initiative.

“Ireland’s first eco-distillery is an innovative example of what all Irish industry should be considering to cut cost and carbon at the same time,” he stated.

“Electrification of our heat will be at the cornerstone of reducing costs and our carbon emissions in the years ahead. We are making great progress at the residential level, but industry needs to catch up and high-temperature heat pumps like the one being deployed at Ahascragh Distillery are exactly what we need.

“This is proven technology across Europe and we have a huge potential to use it here, particularly in the food and beverage sector. I am delighted to see SEAI supporting Ahascragh to work with FDT and Astatine to deliver the first truly zero-emission spirits distillery in Ireland.”

Gareth and Michelle McAllister are a husband and wife team from Dublin who worked abroad for several years before returning to Ireland with the dream of turning their passion for craft Irish spirits into a family business. They have used EIIS funding to finance the venture.

The Ahascragh Distillers Ltd balance sheet for December 2021 shows €3.3m equity funding. Tangible assets capital investment at end 2021 amounted to €1.3m, with €1.1m spent on land and buildings. Stocks were valued at €550,000.

The company owed director Gareth McAllister €1.35m at year-end in relation to a director’s loan.

In 2021, the company launched its first products, Clan Colla Irish Whiskey, UAIS Irish Whiskey and Xin Gin.

The distiller says that zero-emission spirit that will be produced at Ahascragh Distillery will first be used in the UAIS Irish Whiskey product.

Gareth McAllister commented: “It is our ambition to make Irish whiskey production more sustainable and environmentally friendly. We are excited to be making whiskey history in the West of Ireland.”

Managing Director of FDT John Hanley said Ahascragh Distillery is a good example of the outputs of EXEED and has yielded a solution that recycles energy that would normally be rejected, making the process significantly more efficient than a conventional design would have been.

"The distillery will be compatible with a broad range of renewables and there is massive scope for replication of this approach throughout the food and drink industry,” he added.

CEO and co-founder of Astatine Tom Marren, a former EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalist, said he believes Ahascragh may be the first distillery in the world without a chimney.

“Our engineers have designed a revolutionary new system that will cut operating costs and cut carbon emissions. Together, we are leading an exciting evolution in Irish industry that will enable large energy users to transform how they power their businesses,” he said.

Photo: Ahascragh Distillery founders Gareth and Michelle McAllister