Biotech jobs boost for Grangemouth site

Up to 460 biotech jobs are expected to be created at Grangemouth and across Scotland following a funding announcement by the Scottish and UK governments.

Scotland's only oil refinery stopped processing crude oil at Grangemouth in April, after a century of operations, with the loss of about 400 jobs.

Up to 310 roles will be created over the next five years by Scottish firm MiAlgae with £1.5m each from Holyrood and Westminster.

Meanwhile, up to 149 jobs will be created in Grangemouth at Celtic Renewables with £6.23m of Scottish government funding to support pre-construction work on a new bio-refinery supporting the manufacture of "green" chemicals.

The Scottish government's £1.5m allocation to MiAlgae comes from its £25m Grangemouth just transition fund, which it announced in February.

The UK government said the funding formed part of Chancellor Rachel Reeves announcement during the Budget of £14.5m to help transform Grangemouth into a low-carbon tech hub.

As a condition of the funding, eligible Grangemouth workers will be given priority during recruitment, including the guarantee of a job interview.

MiAlgae is re-purposing whisky by-products to develop fish-free omega-3, which it says will save an estimated 30 tonnes of fish for every tonne of algae produced to reduce the impact of over-fishing.

The project is expected to create about 130 direct full-time jobs in the Grangemouth community, and will support 180 further posts across Scotland.

MiAlgae founder and chief executive Douglas Martin said the announcement marked an "exciting new chapter."

He said the company's mission was to make a "meaningful impact" by tackling overfishing, reducing waste, and creating "sustainable value" from industrial by-products.

He said: This new facility is a huge step towards delivering that mission at scale, bringing new, high-quality green jobs to the local area, and helping Scotland lead the way in this exciting new biotech industry."

The proposed Celtic Renewables bio-refinery will support the production of "green" chemicals, where waste from the food, drink and farming sectors is converted into acetone, butanol and ethanol - chemicals found in everyday items such as nail varnish remover and cleaning products.

The technology was identified by Project Willow, a £1.5m feasibility study funded by the UK and Scottish governments, as one of the "viable alternative pathways" to be deployed in the Grangemouth industrial cluster.

The Scottish government said a further £595,000 would be awarded to the site by Scottish Enterprise to support "key planning and infrastructure activity".

Energy Secretary Gillian Martin said: "This funding is only the start of the Scottish government's support to help safeguard Grangemouth's role as a leading industrial cluster, and ensure the site continues to support our economy through new, green investment opportunities."

Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said the UK government was "backing Grangemouth's future with real investment and a clear plan."