AN advanced bioethanol from waste plant, set to be developed on Teesside, has received a multi-million pound boost.
INEOS Bio has been awarded a £7.3m grant from regional development agency One North East and the Department for Energy and Climate Change for construction of Europe’s first advanced bioethanol from waste plant using the INEOS BioEnergy Process Technology.
The 30 million litre commercial-scale bioethanol plant planned for the North-east aims to convert biodegradable household and commercial waste to carbon-neutral biofuel for use in today’s cars and renewable electricity for homes and industry. Europe’s first waste to bioethanol plant at Seal Sands could be operational by 2012, helping to create 350 construction jobs and over 40 permanent skilled roles. An expanded biorefinery, to be operational by 2015, would help to meet the UK’s renewable energy targets for transport fuel, power and heat set for 2020.
In total the project will cost £52m.
Of the £7.3m of funding for the project, £1.8m has come from the £60m Tees Valley Industrial Programme (TVIP) which was drawn up for the process industry but was announced in December, just days after Corus’ decision to mothball its Teesside Cast Products plant.
This latest grant bring the total of TVIP funding spent to £25m.
Peter Williams, CEO of INEOS Bio, said: “Using our technology, the waste that is collected from homes and offices and otherwise thrown away, can be re-cycled into clean biofuel for cars and renewable electricity for homes and industry.
“This grant from One North East and the Department for Energy and Climate Change, together with the considerable support that we are receiving from organisations such as the National Non Food Crop Centre, is enabling us to make progress with our commercialisation plans in the North-east of England.”
Subject to final agreements, this advanced bioethanol plant is due to be completed by 2012.
The INEOS BioEnergy Process Technology combines thermochemical and biochemical technologies to achieve energy-efficient and low-cost biofuel production from a wide range of biomass materials, including household and industrial waste. At the heart of the INEOS Bio technology is an anaerobic fermentation step, through which naturally occurring bacteria convert gases derived directly from biomass into bioethanol.
One North East chairman Margaret Fay said: “INEOS Bio is a fantastic example of the forward-thinking companies which are bringing new jobs to the North-east and this is another major investment for the Tees Valley Industrial Programme.”
Full planning consent for the initial INEOS BioEnergy plant at Seal Sands has been awarded to INEOS Bio by Stockton Council and no objections have been raised for the full biorefinery.
Councillor Bob Cook, Stockton Council’s cabinet member for transport and regeneration, said: “This is excellent news both for Stockton and the wider Tees Valley.”
