Napier University has teamed up with Tullibardine distillery in Perthshire and Celtic Renewables to convert whisky by-products into a petrol substitute.
The university research team plan to use bacteria to feed on the leftovers from the whisky-making process to make butanol, which can be used to power cars without any alterations to the engine.
The leftovers currently cost the distillery £250,000 a year to destroy or convert into fertiliser and cattle feed.
The project received a grant from the Government’s Zero Waste Scotland initiative.