CropEnergies resumes production at bioethanol plant in Wilton

Germany-headquarted bioethanol producer CropEnergies has announced that it has restarted operations at its bioethanol plant in Wilton, UK, by July at the latest.

The Ensus facility, based in the north east of England, has been mothballed since February 2015. Work was halted after bioethanol prices dropped amid sluggish European markets and low oil prices.

Since this pause in production, numerous technical modifications have been carried out to improve its reliability and energy efficiency. These improvements, following their completion, need to be fully tested in a trial run, the company said in a statement.

The company also said: “Possible effects this might have on revenues and earnings - depending on duration and results - are not yet included in the current outlook.”

It added: “In the medium term, CropEnergies expects the resolutions passed at the climate summit in Paris and the EU resolutions for the increase of the share of renewable energies also in the transport sector to result in market growth.

“As a leading producer in Europe, CropEnergies is well prepared for the subsequent increase in demand. To reach the goals, however, it is important to define mandatory targets for the use of renewable energies and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector for the time beyond 2020.

“In the foreseeable future, biofuels are the only alternative to fossil fuels which is cost-efficient and available on a large scale. They make an essential contribution to climate protection in the transport sector.”

The company made the announcement as it unveiled its first quarter results for the 2016/17 financial year.

Revenues decreased by 15% to €168 million (previous year: €198) due to lower proceeds for bioethanol and - following the temporary standstill of the production plant in Wilton, UK, - lower trading volumes.

The earnings situation, however, improved significantly thanks to lower raw material prices and lower energy and maintenance costs, the company said.  EBITDA increased to €28 million (previous year: €22), operating profit rose 42% to €19 million (previous year: €14 million).

Bioethanol production in the first quarter of the financial year 2016/17 was slightly below the previous year's level with 203,000 (previous year: 205,000) cubic meters. The production of food and animal feed products, however, increased due to a change in the raw material mix.