Production at Europe’s biggest bioethanol plant is now well underway as the first tank of the sustainable fuel is dispatched.
The £250 million Ensus facility in Teeside, which is also Europe’s leading biofinery, has shipped its first order of biofuel to Shell UK as part of a ten year deal, the Northern Echo reports.
Using 1.2 million tonnes of wheat to produce 400 million litres of bioethanol and 350,000 tonnes of high-protein animal feed, the news provider reveals that the site is Europe’s largest feed producer and will replace imported alternatives.
Ensus chief executive Alwyn Hughes told the news provider: "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."
This will be welcome news to those in the animal feed sector as it will further enhance the UK’s position as a prime exporter of feed stock.
Orders for heavy-duty conveyors, industrial conveyors and en-masse elevators could be affected by a move to create increased levels of home-produced feed.
Mr Hughes went on to congratulate the workforce’s efficiency at getting the conveyor belts rolling in the plant, in what was a short period of time from concept to productivity.