Ensus biorefinery up and running
3 Mar 2010
Teesside, UK – Ensus has despatched the first tanker of bioethanol from its recently started wheat biorefinery on Teesside. The cargo, which went to Shell which is taking all the output of the new £250-million plant on a ten year contract, according to a 1 March Ensus statement.
Annual production of the Ensus biorefinery is expected to meet about a third of the UK requirement under the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation, which requires 3.5% of all transport fuel to come from biofuels in 2010-11. The plant will also produce 350,000 tonnes a year of high protein animal feed, which will replace imports.
“This is a milestone for UK production of biofuels and a beacon of hope for the burgeoning green industry on Teesside,” commented Ensus CEO Alwyn Hughes. “We are taking in animal feed wheat, of which the UK has a large surplus, and refining it into bioethanol and high protein animal feed. At the same time, we are capturing all the carbon dioxide we produce for use in the food and beverage industries.”
Shell chairman James Smith added, “It is great to see the start up of this major new plant producing bioethanol to be used by Shell. The Ensus plant is a strong step in the right direction for UK energy security and CO2 emission reduction. It’s good for jobs and for the UK balance of payments.”
Wheat for the plant is being supplied by Glencore Grain UK Ltd, which will also market the high protein animal feed – the company’s Keith Davies, MD of Glencore Grain UK Ltd commenting “This plant is a major boost for UK agriculture and will provide valuable support for both cereal growers and livestock farmers.”
The plant, at Wilton on Teesside has cost in excess of £250 million with a further £60 million of investment from associated companies. It will use 1.2 million tonnes of wheat to produce over 400 million litres of bioethanol and 350 kilotonnes of high protein animal feed per year. It will support over 2,000 jobs directly and indirectly in agriculture, transport, engineering and supporting services.
The Ensus project has been financed by private equity companies the Carlyle Group and Riverstone Holdings and a consortium of banks.
