Ensus' Teesside plant to pause production due to 'difficult market conditions'
Thu 25 October 2018
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Ensus has announced that it is to pause production of bioethanol at its Teesside plant from the end of November. Owner of the plant at Wilton, CropEnergies AG, said the production pause is down to "difficult market conditions". The pause follows the recent closure of Vivergo's bioethanol plant near Hull.
A spokesperson for CropEnergies AG (reported by Farming UK) said that ethanol prices – both spot and forward prices – have "significantly fallen" recently "contrary to all expectations".
The plant supports around 2,000 jobs in the supply chain, including those in the farming industry, across the north of England. Ensus is one of just two UK producers of ethanol. It is reported to be unable to confirm when production will resume.
Vivergo, the UK's biggest producer of bioethanol, recently announced the stoppage of production at its plant near Hull in East Yorkshire. The company had been buying large quantities of wheat from farms in northern England. Vivergo also blamed delays in the implementation of E10 in the UK.
LowCVP Managing Director Andy Eastlake said “The rapid transition to E10 (with suitable support for the few incompatible vehicles) is vital if we are to meet the 2020 RED and RTFO targets. We fully support the initiatives for ULEVs and ZEVs but with 60% of cars on the road (over 19 million and rising) running on petrol, a lower carbon fuel has the most immediate impact.”
In response to the recent Budget, Andy Eastlake noted the continued absence of measures to support demand for renewable fuels and the need for them to take a larger part of the future alternative fuels mix. (See LowCVP budget summary and response
link.)
Bioethanol is a low-carbon renewable transport fuel which is blended with petrol, it is produced by distillation from crops such as wheat, corn, sugar.
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