Sgainnach

11/07/2026

Scotland is a massive energy exporter.

In 2025 alone, Scottish net electricity exports were 20.8 terawatt hours, enough to power the equivalent of every home in Scotland for around three-and-a-half years.

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Overview of key facts and trends relating to energy in Scotland for Q4 2025

02/07/2026

FIRST EVER SCIENTIST
Mary Somerville, born in Jedburgh, is pictured on Royal Bank of Scotland £10 notes.

Why is this? She was the first ever person called a scientist. Before then the term was a Man of Science. In the 1780s women were thought to have a low capacity for intelligent thought!

Source:
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1013304514943784

06/05/2026

ACCELERATING GROWTH IN GRANGEMOUTH
Grangemouth will benefit from £10 million new investment to create new jobs and boost skills development.
Further investment into Celtic Renewables will support the company’s expansion into large scale commercial production of sustainable biochemical solutions, creating 149 new jobs in the area by 2030.

The funding comprises £5 million in Scottish Enterprise equity funding - building on previous Scottish Government investment of over £6 million via the Grangemouth Just Transition Fund - which has in turn leveraged £5 million from the private sector into Celtic Renewables.

Celtic Renewables Chief Executive Mark Simmers said: “Our demonstrator facility in Grangemouth is Scotland’s first biorefinery and has been operational since 2023. In that time, we’ve proven that our patented ABE fermentation process is scalable and commercially viable, de-risking future projects.

“Today, demand for our bio-based chemicals far outstrips current production capabilities at our demonstrator plant. Companies globally are seeking to switch to green chemicals to cut their indirect Scope 3 emissions and meet increasing customer demand for more sustainable products. With this latest investment, we’re now poised to take the knowledge gained at our demonstrator plant and scale to full industrial-level operations in Grangemouth.”

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Supporting future Grangemouth industries

06/04/2026

WHY THIS SCOTCH WHISKY GIANT IS BRINGING IN ROBOT DOGS
Robot dogs are set to help Scotch whisky manufacturers by “sniffing out” costly ethanol leaks. They will automate the inspection process, making it more consistent and efficient, designers say.

The kit will be designed by The National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) and developed at its Digital Process Manufacturing Centre (DPMC) in Irvine.

Early trials at the John Dewar & Sons site near Glasgow are set to implement autonomous inspection in warehouses to improve the efficiency of the whisky maturation process, which sees Scotch sit in its cask barrels for a minimum of three years.
This process leads to a loss of liquid as ethanol evaporates naturally as part of the process. This loss is known as the “angel’s share” and requires careful monitoring to ensure as much whisky as possible stays in the barrel.

Traditionally, monitoring is done by workers and relies on visual cues, a process which requires significant manual handling and can be both time consuming and inconsistent. NMIS says this could be turned into a repeatable, data-driven task performed by cutting edge robot dogs.

The robot would use a sensor system held in place by a 3D-printed arm designed by NMIS engineers. This sensor would detect ethanol vapour levels as the robot follows a defined path through the warehouse.

Source:

ROBOT dogs are set to help Scotch whisky manufacturers by “sniffing out” costly leaks ..

12/03/2026

AWARD-WINNING FRENCH PROFESSOR PUSHING SCOTLAND TO THE STARS
Born in Brittany, France, Dr Bailet the space technology lecturer at the University of Glasgow was recently awarded the Manufacturing Technology award, an engineering accolade he received for developing a space testing facility alongside his team at the university’s James Watt School of Engineering and the Manufacturing Technology Centre.

The facility uses a vacuum chamber that generates temperatures between -150C and 250C to produce space-like conditions on Earth. This vacuum chamber is specially designed to help support the developing field of space manufacturing.
The award-winning testing facility allows researchers to 3D-print polymers, ceramics and metals and simulate space-like conditions to gauge whether they would withstand the strains they would endure in outer space.

While the study of outer space may seem unimportant to the happenings down on Earth, Dr Bailet stresses how significant the relationship between society and the solar system is, and just how vital it is for understanding the world.
“I invite you to think about your daily life”, he offers. “Your glasses, for example, are made with plastic, not glass anymore. This was technology developed for space telescopes and spacecrafts.
“Every time you fly on a plane, you need weather predictions to make sure you will be safe. Again, this was developed for spacecraft.”

Dr Bailet greatly admires Scotland’s contribution to groundbreaking space research and recognises how internationally significant the country is to pushing the boundaries of engineering.

He praises the city of Glasgow in particular for being at the forefront of space technological development. “Glasgow is a city outside of the US, which is manufacturing the most spacecrafts. Glasgow is like a superpower for space.”

“You don’t need to leave Scotland if you want to do some really ambitious and cool projects,” he concludes.

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‘I’M a nerdy guy in a lab, but I’m not just that, I want to have a positive impact on Earth”, says Dr Gilles Bailet.

05/03/2026

SCOTLAND'S MOST INNOVATIVE START-UPS SECURE £1.5M AT TOP AWARDS EVENT
Scotland’s top start-ups gathered at the Royal Bank of Scotland Conference Centre to collect a combined prize pot of £1.5 million from the coveted Scottish EDGE Awards. Scottish EDGE is the largest funding competition in the UK and has supported 712 businesses since it started in 2012 through 26 rounds of funding.

Evelyn McDonald, CEO of Scottish EDGE said: “Emerging from our 26th round with such a strong cohort of new winners is testament to Scotland’s ever-evolving entrepreneurial landscape.

More than 30 small businesses won prizes from sponsors like STV, Royal Bank of Scotland and the Scottish Government.

Winners include FuelFit (£100,000), a Saltcoats based meal-prep service delivering macro-balanced meals to fitness enthusiasts across the UK, Sablière (£100,000), an Edinburgh based producer of 0% “Champagne-style” sparkling drinks, and Fair Feast (£75,000), a Pitlochry social enterprise providing donations of venison-based meals to food banks across Scotland by managing deer overpopulation.

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SCOTLAND’s top start-ups gathered at the Royal Bank of Scotland Conference Centre yesterday to collect a combined prize pot of £1.5 million from…

10/02/2026

NHS SCOTLAND NATIONAL TREATMENT CENTRE HIGHLAND COMPLETES FIRST-FOUR JOINT REPLACEMENT
The first patient to undergo all four joint replacements at the new National Treatment Centre-Highland in Inverness has highlighted his positive experience.

The patient underwent two hip replacements and two knee replacements over a 16-month period at the centre which opened in April 2024 and was funded with an extra £2.6 million from the Scottish Government allowing it to deliver thousands more operations.

He was under the care of NHS Grampian but transferred to NHS Highland resulting in a much-reduced waiting time for surgery. He had initially faced a two-year wait at Woodend Hospital in Aberdeen, but following his referral to NTC-Highland in early May 2024, his first surgery was scheduled for just eight weeks later on 26th June 2024.

NHS Highland chief executive said his story showcased NTC-Highland as a centre of excellence and demonstrated how specialist facilities could transform waiting times while delivering genuinely patient-centred care across the north of Scotland.

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The first patient to undergo all four joint replacements at the new National Treatment Centre Highland has highlighted his positive experience.

03/02/2026

SCOTTISH ZERO EMISSION BUS CHALLENGE FUND
The Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB) accelerates Scotland’s shift to cleaner, greener buses. The Fund supports the rollout of zero emission buses and the associated charging and/or refuelling infrastructure needed to run them – cutting emissions, improving air quality and supporting our just transition and climate goals.

ScotZEB also helps grow Scotland’s green economy by encouraging investment, supporting jobs, and building a strong supply chain for zero-emission transport and energy solutions in Scotland.
In 2025 all remaining ScotZEB2 budget was reallocated, total funding was increased, and a new and final third round – ScotZEB3 – was developed to support the transition to zero-emission buses.

The scheme will provide up to £45 million to accelerate the transition to zero-emission buses in Scotland. It comes ahead of future regulations (UK Bus Services Act 2025) which will prohibit the use of new non-zero emission buses on local bus services.

The ScotZEB programme to date has already delivered hundreds of zero-emission buses, coaches and cutting-edge charging infrastructure across Scotland – with over £154 million invested by the Scottish Government since 2020.

Value Thresholds:
• £50,000 for a diesel bus or coach to be repowered with a zero-emission drive train.
• £57,500 for an accessible zero emission bus or coach with at least 9 passenger seats and at least one wheelchair accessible space.
• £101,000 for an accessible zero emission bus or coach with at least 32 passenger seats.
• £122,000 for an accessible battery-electric zero emission bus or coach with at least 45 seats.
• 70% of total capital costs for infrastructure

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Scottish Zero Emission Bus challenge fund The Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB) accelerates Scotland’s shift to cleaner, greener buses. The Fund supports the rollout of zero emission buses and the associated charging and/or refuelling infrastructure needed to run them – cutting...

21/01/2026

THREE SCOTTISH FIRMS AMONG TOP 100 BEST UK STARTUPS
The Startups 100 Tech Award celebrates the most promising new businesses and has previously featured brands that have become household names, like Monzo, Revolut, and Deliveroo.

The 2026 list is the 18th iteration of the top 100 awards and requires nominees to have been launched in the last five years, be UK-based, and privately owned at the time of entering.

The list is then selected by a panel of judges based on five criteria: finance, external validation, size of opportunity, innovativeness of idea, and strength of concept.

NEURANTICS
Neuranics broke into the top 10, ranking 6th after developing ultra-sensitive sensors that can read minute magnetic fields generated by the human body’s muscles and heart, allowing for accurate and comfortable medical monitoring without intrusive operations or even the need to remove clothing.

DANU ROBOTICS
Also based in Edinburgh, Danu Robotics has developed an AI-powered recycling robot to sort waste and improve recycling rates by reducing contamination. The development of the new robot, named H.E.R.O, has helped the company reach 66th in the top 100 list and it is now collaborating with Glasgow and Dundee City councils to improve recycling efficiency.

SWURF
Placing 94th, Swurf is an Edinburgh-based platform founded in 2020 with the ambition of offering affordable and attractive workspaces for remote workers while also supporting businesses that are struggling to attract customers. They now connect remote workers with hotels, cafés and community spaces so that underutilised spaces can thrive and workers can enjoy new environments.

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THREE Scottish firms have been named among the top 100 startups in the UK.

23/12/2025

SCOTTISH WATER COMPLETES RECORD £235 MILLION INVESTMENT
The publicly-owned firm said it has completed its £235 million investment in providing a two-way connection between the drinking water networks in the Greater Glasgow area, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire.

It says it will benefit almost one million people across the west of Scotland.

All profits go back into improving the service for customers, never to shareholders.

The new connected system will “substantially” improve operational resilience and, in the event of an issue like a burst trunk water main, it will enable tens of millions of litres of water to be transferred in either direction and minimise the impact for customers.

The new infrastructure includes the installation of 30 miles of water mains in Ayrshire and 7.5 miles of new mains in south-west Glasgow along with the construction of a new pumping station in the Ibrox area of the city.

Connecting the two systems means Scottish Water has created one big water network stretching from Loch Bradan in South Ayrshire to Loch Katrine, almost 100 miles away.

Rob Mustard, Scottish Water’s director of capital investment, said the system will significantly boost the security of the supply of one of Scotland’s most precious natural resources to hundreds of thousands of households and this aligns with Scottish Water’s long-term strategy which sets out a comprehensive approach that aims to ensure the country’s water and waste water services remain sustainable, resilient and affordable into the future.”

Source:
https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/25586652.scottish-water-completes-record-235-million-investment/