Recorded live at the Pitch Perfect Bioeconomy event in Brussels, this episode features Martin Tangney, Founder & President of Celtic Renewables, one of Europe’s most established bio-based scale-up stories.

Celtic Renewables takes biological residues from the Scottish whisky industry and turns them into high-value, low-carbon chemicals like acetone and butanol, the essential building blocks used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food production, and everyday products.

Less than 10% of what leaves a distillery becomes whisky. The rest? Untapped carbon.
Celtic’s mission is simple: defossilize the chemical industry by squeezing more value out of what already exists above ground.

In this episode, Martin shares:

• How a university research project became a commercial biorefinery
• Why the biggest leap in scaling is from lab to pilot
• The role of Biobase Europe in scaling 1,000x
• Why surrounding yourself with complementary skills is everything
• The hard truths about funding, risk, and “everyone wants to be first to be second”
• Why founders need resilience, but also balance

One of the strongest takeaways:
Don’t build a pier. Build a bridge. Get to the promised land, even if it’s not perfect.

This is a candid conversation about scaling industrial biotech, reframing “waste” as resource, and why change is the real driver of the bioeconomy.

This episode is powered by Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant.