Abengoa Bioenergy exports success
One of the US’ largest ethanol producers Abengoa Bioenergy has just taken its second step into the export market by shipping the equivalent of 40 railcars at the beginning of January 2010.
‘Exports offer a huge potential to US producers,’ says Javier Salgado, the company’s CEO. ‘Most producers are focusing on the domestic market, but exports can offer better returns, especially as markets such as Asia are exploding right now.’
Abengoa Bioenergy is the only worldwide ethanol producer with production and access to markets on three continents – the US, Europe and South America.
‘Market dynamics vary dramatically from country to country and having plants across the world gives us an insight into local market challenges, which will also help us move into exports,’ Salgado adds.
The company’s latest achievements are its two new facilities in the US – one in Indiana and one in Illinois. These plants are already producing ethanol at about 75% capacity, and will be ramped up over the next several weeks. At full production the plants each have a capacity of 90 million gallons a year.
The company is now Europe’s largest ethanol producer and when combining the two new plants, with its five operating facilities in Europe and a sixth facility in Rotterdam which will be completed this year, the company’s total production capacity will exceed 800 million gallons/year.
For the time being Abengoa Bioenergy will focus on its biorefinery concept. The Hugoton facility, known as Abengoa Bioenergy Hybrid of Kansas (ABHK), is a culmination of the company’s last 10 years of research into biomass.
When up and running it will consume about 2,500 tonnes a day of various biomass feedstocks (82% corn stover, 7% straw, 7% milo stubble and 4% switchgrass) and produce 70 MW of biopower, 16,000,000 gallons of ethanol and 29,000 tons of lignin per year.
Six hundred tonnes per day of corn stover will be used for the enzymatic conversion to ethanol.
Abengoa Bioenergy plans full scale second generation ethanol production by 2012.
‘Exports offer a huge potential to US producers,’ says Javier Salgado, the company’s CEO. ‘Most producers are focusing on the domestic market, but exports can offer better returns, especially as markets such as Asia are exploding right now.’
Abengoa Bioenergy is the only worldwide ethanol producer with production and access to markets on three continents – the US, Europe and South America.
‘Market dynamics vary dramatically from country to country and having plants across the world gives us an insight into local market challenges, which will also help us move into exports,’ Salgado adds.
The company’s latest achievements are its two new facilities in the US – one in Indiana and one in Illinois. These plants are already producing ethanol at about 75% capacity, and will be ramped up over the next several weeks. At full production the plants each have a capacity of 90 million gallons a year.
The company is now Europe’s largest ethanol producer and when combining the two new plants, with its five operating facilities in Europe and a sixth facility in Rotterdam which will be completed this year, the company’s total production capacity will exceed 800 million gallons/year.
For the time being Abengoa Bioenergy will focus on its biorefinery concept. The Hugoton facility, known as Abengoa Bioenergy Hybrid of Kansas (ABHK), is a culmination of the company’s last 10 years of research into biomass.
When up and running it will consume about 2,500 tonnes a day of various biomass feedstocks (82% corn stover, 7% straw, 7% milo stubble and 4% switchgrass) and produce 70 MW of biopower, 16,000,000 gallons of ethanol and 29,000 tons of lignin per year.
Six hundred tonnes per day of corn stover will be used for the enzymatic conversion to ethanol.
Abengoa Bioenergy plans full scale second generation ethanol production by 2012.
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