The Vivergo plant is a brownfield re-development project, which has been developed on a 25 acre site within the Saltend Chemicals Park near Hull.
BP claimed the new plant is the UK’s biggest bioethanol producer and largest single-source supplier of animal feed providing valuable commodities that the UK would usually import.
The bio-refinery will use animal feed grade wheat to produce bio-ethanol and also 500,000t a year of protein-rich animal feed for the UK market.
BP and its partners have designed the facility to produce 420 million liters of bio-ethanol annually at full capacity, which is equivalent to a third of the UK’s current demand.
Bio-ethanol is a renewable transport fuel which is added to petrol.
The bio-fuel produced at the facility will provide greenhouse gas savings of more than 50% over standard petrol.
BP Alternative Energy vice president Phillip New said the bio-refinery is set to benefit the country environmentally, socially, and economically.
"Vivergo is one of Europe’s most sophisticated ethanol plants – and it is a great example of today’s biofuel technology turning the starch from wheat into ethanol and producing high-quality animal feed as a co-product," New added.
DuPont Industrial Biosciences president James C. Collins said the demand for transportation fuel will continue to increase.
"To meet the needs of a growing population, we need to use existing resources more effectively and find better ways to harness renewable energy sources, like those that come from agriculture," Collins added.
"Vivergo brings just such innovation to the marketplace in both the fields of energy and animal nutrition. We are proud to partner with
BP and AB Sugar to bring state-of-the-art science and technology online."
