Ensus unveils biofuel refinery
It has been a long wait but now Europe's largest biorefinery operated by Ensus in Teesside, UK, is due to begin production within weeks.
The £250 million (€276.5 million) refinery will produce ethanol from wheat, processing 1.2 million tonnes of animal feed wheat a year.
Under a 10-year agreement, Shell will buy all the plant's annual output of 400 million litres of bioethanol to blend with petrol and sell as transport fuel.
The plant will also produce 350,000 tonnes a year of high-protein animal feed. This, it says, will replace feeds, including soya, often grown on deforested land. ‘By refining UK and European wheat to make food and fuel we are taking the pressure off the rainforests,’ CEO Alwyn Hughes says.
The Carlyle Group and Riverstone Holdings have invested £90 million in the Ensus project, which is also supported by about £150 million in debt arranged by the Royal Bank of Scotland, Société Générale and Calyon, while the government has contributed a £1.9 million regional development agency grant.
The £250 million (€276.5 million) refinery will produce ethanol from wheat, processing 1.2 million tonnes of animal feed wheat a year.
Under a 10-year agreement, Shell will buy all the plant's annual output of 400 million litres of bioethanol to blend with petrol and sell as transport fuel.
The plant will also produce 350,000 tonnes a year of high-protein animal feed. This, it says, will replace feeds, including soya, often grown on deforested land. ‘By refining UK and European wheat to make food and fuel we are taking the pressure off the rainforests,’ CEO Alwyn Hughes says.
The Carlyle Group and Riverstone Holdings have invested £90 million in the Ensus project, which is also supported by about £150 million in debt arranged by the Royal Bank of Scotland, Société Générale and Calyon, while the government has contributed a £1.9 million regional development agency grant.
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