Heriot-Watt unveils £35m vision for a new Centre for Sustainable Brewing & Distilling

Heriot-Watt University has announced a transformative £35 million initiative to create the Centre for Sustainable Brewing and Distilling (CSBD), a state-of-the-art facility designed to ensure the long-term sustainability and global competitiveness of the brewing and distilling industries.

Credit: Heriot-Watt University

Building on more than a century of academic excellence, the CSBD will replace the internationally renowned International Centre for Brewing and Distilling (ICBD), which has trained generations of industry leaders since its foundation in 1989. The new centre will incorporate cutting-edge green technologies and sustainable practices, positioning the university at the forefront of low-carbon innovation in one of Scotland’s most important economic sectors.

The planned facility will act as a “living laboratory,” constructed using low-carbon materials and powered entirely by renewable energy, guided by Heriot-Watt’s iNetZ+ research institute. The CSBD will offer plug-and-play brewing and distilling testbeds to enable industrial partners to trial new technologies, alongside dedicated research labs focused on low-carbon distillation and circular economy solutions. A new entrepreneurial hub will also support startups and SMEs in bringing sustainable innovations to market.

Heriot-Watt aims for the CSBD to address key global challenges, including decarbonisation, resource scarcity, and the sector’s growing skills gap. The centre will offer graduate apprenticeships, executive education, and collaborative research programmes designed to train the next generation of brewing and distilling professionals with a strong emphasis on sustainability and innovation.

Read more about Heriot-Watt’s legacy here!