Clariant: VW emissions scandal will boost biofuels

Clariant, a Swiss specialty chemicals company, expects the Volkswagen diesel engine emissions scandal to give a boost to biofuels.

Hariolf Kottmann, CEO of Clariant, says the company is spending €30 million each year to expand it bioethanol-from-straw production capacity and expects its profits from the business to grow over the next four years.

‘And if in a few years we account for the global impact of the VW exhaust affair on diesel and diesel vehicles, we will find that this issue has helped biofuels to reach a whole other level,’ Kottmann says.

According to Kottmann, Clariant is confident that its pre-tax profit margin will improve this year, despite the company facing lower sales due to the strong Swiss franc.