UK backs temporary restart of bioethanol plant amid CO2 shortages

THE UK government will fund a temporary restart of a bioethanol plant on Teesside to ease CO2 shortages triggered by the conflict in the Middle East. 

Operator Ensus will resume production at its Wilton facility for at least three months, supported by around £100m (US$132m) from the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). 

The plant had been placed on standby last September after being shut down amid concerns that a UK-US trade deal would leave domestic bioethanol producers unable to compete with tariff-free imports. 

Ensus, owned by German sugar giant Südzucker, produces bioethanol from grains and captures CO2 as a byproduct of fermentation. Supplies of the gas have been impacted by reduced fertiliser production linked to the conflict in Iran, a major source of commercial CO2. A government source told the Financial Times: “The irony is that the plant was shut because of a deal with Trump and now it’s reopening because of Trump’s war in Iran.”

Before its closure, the facility was the only large-scale plant capturing CO2 of high enough quality to be used in drinks, according to the Renewable Transport Fuel Association (RTFA). The gas can also be used in hospital operating theatres, as a coolant in nuclear reactors, and to stun livestock, while waste stillage can be converted into high-grade animal feed. 

Ensus chairman Grant Pearson called the decision “excellent news” for employees and supply chains. He said: “It strengthens the broader Teesside manufacturing economy and the UK’s resilience in relation to biogenic CO2 supplies.”

Industry figures welcomed the move but warned that longer-term support is needed. In a LinkedIn post, the RTFA praised the “huge amount of work” behind the scenes between Ensus and DBT, while saying more needed to be done to allow plants “to operate profitably in the future”. 

The UK’s other major bioethanol facility, operated by Vivergo Fuels in Hull, remains closed.

UK business secretary Peter Kyle said the intervention would help “boost the resilience of our supply chains and protect critical UK sectors like food production, water and healthcare, as well as the jobs and communities that depend on these industries”.