Largest bioethanol plant in UK officially opens

The multi-million pound Vivergo bioethanol plant has officially opened in Hull, UK this July.

The facility, a joint venture between Dupont and AB Sugar costing £350 million (€407.1 million), makes Vivergo the biggest bioethanol plant in the UK, as well as the biggest single-source supplier of animal feed.

It is believed the plant will pump out 420 million litres of bioethanol a year when running at full capacity, a third of the UK’s current demand. Wheat will provide the base feedstock for operation, with Vivergo officials claiming around 1.1 million tonnes of the crop will be needed annually.

‘Our location right on the Humber is ideal; we’re at the heart of the UK’s wheat belt which offers some of the best yieldsin the world, and our channels for distributing the bioethanol, either by ship or by road to depots where it is blended with petrol, are second to none,’ claims Vivergo MD David Richards.

The project is also taking a ‘local first’ stance, with the company aspiring to source all feed stock from farms in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire while aiming to employ local people via collaboration with local authorities and training providers.