Synata Bio wins auction for Abengoa’s last US ethanol assets

Synata Bio, a newly formed Illinois energy company, has won the auction to purchase Abengoa Bioenergy’s Kansas cellulosic ethanol plant for $48.5 million (€45.5m).

With its final offer, Synata outbid Shell Oil Company’s $40.8 million offer by nearly $8 million, according to court documents.

Synata now owns cellulosic ethanol technology formerly owned by Coskata, which was primarily involved in technologies that allow for the production of cellulosic ethanol from natural gas.

Back in October, Shell agreed to to set the floor proce of $26 million for the plant that produces cellulosic ethanol from wheat straw, switchgrass and other biomass.

Though Synata was the highest successful bidder for the plant, which is estimated to have cost about $400 million to build, court records from the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Kansas show Shell remains the backup bid if there were any issues with the Synata bid.

The Hugoton plant is the last of Abengoa's ethanol assets in the US to be sold as part of a bankruptcy reorganisation.

In August, Abengoa sold three of its ethanol plants to Omaha-based Green Plains during an auction.

Green Plains bid $237 million to purchase plants in Madison, Illinois; Mount Vernon, Indiana; and York, Nebraska, with an annual combined production capacity of 236 million gallons.

KE Holdings made a successful $115 million bid to buy the Abengoa plant in Ravenna, Nebraska, while Kansas-based ethanol plant builder ICM was the high bidder at $3.15 million for the Abengoa plant in Colwich, Kansas.

Ace Ethanol was the successful back-up bidder on the Kansas plant with a bid of $3 million.

The Abengoa corn ethanol plant in Portales, New Mexico, was sold to Natural Chem Group at auction in the US Bankruptcy Court for Eastern District of Missouri.

Natural Chem announced plans to convert the plant to biodiesel production.

The 25-million-gallon Hugoton plant has been in "cold status" for some time, as it was in the middle of start-up when Abengoa's financial problems surfaced.

The Hugoton plant is designed to use a variety of feedstocks, including wheat straw, switchgrass and even municipal solid waste.

It was expected to provide an annual $17 million, 300-million-tonne feedstock market for area farmers.

The plant is designed to process about 1,000 tonnes a day of corn stover, wheat straw, milo stubble, switchgrass, and other biomass feedstocks, all within a 50-mile range of the plant.