Latest news with #Ensus
Bloomberg
16-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
UK Ethanol Industry's Imminent Demise May Hit Meat, Beer and More
A 1.4 billion-liter tide of cheap US biofuels threatens to wipe out both of the UK's domestic ethanol producers, and could also disrupt a range of British industries from meat packing to making beer. The Vivergo Fuels and Ensus plants in the north of England face imminent closure after a trade deal with Washington removed tariffs on imports of American ethanol.
Times
26-06-2025
- Business
- Times
Britain's biggest bioethanol plant will shut without state rescue, says AB Foods
Britain's largest bioethanol plant will close by September unless the government agrees to a rescue package, its owner Associated British Foods has said, blaming the UK's trade deal with America. ABF, majority owned by the investment vehicle of the billionaire Weston family, said that it had begun consultation with the more than 160 employees at its Vivergo site in Hull 'to effect an orderly wind-down'. It said it had stopped buying wheat, used to make fuel at the plant, on June 11 and would close it down before September 13 'unless the government is able to provide both short-term funding of Vivergo's losses and a longer-term solution'. • Business live: follow for the latest news on companies, markets and the economy Bioethanol is blended with fossil fuels to make E10 petrol. ABF and the German-owned sugars giant Ensus, which operates Britain's other large bioethanol plant on Teesside, have together been lobbying the government for tens of millions of pounds in taxpayer subsidies to save their loss-making sites. Ensus has also threatened the 'imminent' closure of its plant, which employs more than a hundred people and also supplies carbon dioxide for use in hospitals and food production. The companies had already been struggling to compete against cheap imports from America, which left the Vivergo plant losing about £3 million a month. ABF said this situation had been 'made significantly worse by the UK's trade deal with the US, which will allow tariff-free US ethanol into the UK'. American bioethanol producers already benefit from lower costs for the crops and energy they use. Imports from the US are subject to 19 per cent tariffs but the UK-US trade deal unexpectedly agreed to remove these tariffs on 1.4 billion litres of bioethanol each year, roughly equal to total UK demand. ABF said that it had 'engaged in extensive discussions with the government to find a financial and regulatory solution that would enable Vivergo to operate on a profitable and sustainable basis' but that its 'extended deadline' for the government to find a solution had passed on Wednesday. It said that the government had now 'committed to formal negotiations to reach a sustainable solution', recognising 'the strategic importance of a domestic ethanol supply', but that it had begun the wind-down process because the outcome of the negotiations was uncertain. Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, told The Times: 'We're willing to engage with them and potentially put government money into a restructure, to make sure they've got a strong future. 'We have met many times, we've engaged consultants, so we're well into the process. So I really do regret Vivergo's decision to start consultations to let the workforce go and close the plant. I think that's premature because we're in good-faith negotiations with them.' AB Foods, the owner of Primark, is majority-owned by Wittington Investments, in which the Weston family have a stake. Wittington Investments is majority-owned by the Garfield Weston Foundation, a charitable trust, and minority-owned by the Weston family. Guy, George, Alannah and Galen Weston and family were placed sixth this year on The Sunday Times Rich List with an approximate net worth of £17.7 billion. A spokesman for the business department said: 'We recognise this is a concerning time for workers and their families and it is disappointing to see this announcement after we entered into negotiations with the company on financial support yesterday. 'We will continue to take proactive steps to address the long-standing challenges the company faces and remain committed to working closely with them throughout this period to present a plan for a way forward that protects supply chains, jobs and livelihoods.'
Daily Mail
26-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Britain's biggest bioethanol producer could close after UK-US trade deal
Britian's biggest bioethanol producer could cease manufacturing in less than three months as more than a billion tonnes of cheap US imports are set to flood the market. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's recently agreed trade deal with the US opens the door to tariff-free imports of 1.4billion litres of ethanol from across the pond. It has sparked fears domestic suppliers will be unable to compete, and British wheat farmers will be left without a vital source of demand. Biofuels manufacturer Ensus warned earlier this week it faces imminent closure as a result of the deal. And industry giant Associated British Foods told investors on Thursday it will cease all manufacturing by 13 September at its Vivergo plant in Hull if the Government does not find a solution urgently. Bioethanol is a form of renewable energy produced from agricultural feedstocks. It is primarily used as a fuel blend in petrol in the UK. The domestic industry can buy up to two million tonnes of wheat each year, according to the National Farmers Union, or around 8 per cent of the total harvest. The NFU recently warned the loss of this market 'would deliver a huge blow to our members… due to the impact on the wheat price in the event that UK farmers are forced to once again look to export markets'. 'It is also important to note that other industries and sectors such as the NHS also rely on the carbon dioxide produced in ethanol production,' it added. Associated British Foods, which also owns Primark, had previously warned the UK's treatment of overseas imports is hurting the 'commercial viability' of Vivergo. Vivergo, the UK's biggest bioethanol supplier, employs more than 160 skilled workers. The Ensus plant near Redcar, North Yorkshire employs around 100. ABF said on Thursday 'the situation has been made significantly worse by' the UK-US trade deal, and the Government has so far failed to deliver a solution that would enable Vivergo to 'operate on a profitable and sustainable basis'. It added: 'Recognising the strategic importance of a domestic ethanol supply, the Government has now committed to formal negotiations to reach a sustainable solution. 'Given the outcome of the negotiations is uncertain, Vivergo is simultaneously beginning consultation with employees to effect an orderly wind-down, with wheat purchases having ceased from 11 June.' ABF wants the Government to provide both 'short-term funding' of Vivergo's losses and a longer-term solution, without which it intends to close the business. Ensus UK chairman Grant Pearson said earlier this week: 'We are at the 11th hour and the Government urgently needs to find a solution to a crisis of its own making. 'We need a solution which will not only save these skilled jobs on Teesside, but also prevent a catastrophic knock on effect in other vital sectors of the economy. 'The closure of Ensus - a profitable, growth generating business - would be a disaster for the UK's ability to develop a green industrial base as we are part of the solution to decarbonising the UK's chemical industry and producing important products for the future such as sustainable aviation fuel.'
BBC News
26-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Food giant threatens to close UK biofuel plant after US tariff deal
Associated British Foods has threatened to close one of the UK's two bioethanol plants if it does not receive state support after the government struck a tariff deal with the US. It said while the government has committed to "formal negotiations", it will begin consultations with 150 staff at its Vivergo bioethanol business in Hull "to effect an orderly wind-down". As part of an agreement to cut US tariffs, the government said it will remove a 19% tariff on exports of ethanol to the UK, and replace it with a tax-free quota of up to 1.4 billion litres of the fuel. AB Foods said unless help is provided, Vivergo will stop manufacturing before 13 September. The Vivergo bioethanol plant is the UK's biggest. The only other plant making the fuel in the UK is Ensus in Teesside, which is owned by Germany's Sudzucker Group. Ensus has also said it may have to shut its site because the UK-US trade agreement "fundamentally undermined its business position".Under the tariff deal, the US can export 1.4 billion litres of the fuel - equal to the UK's entire ethanol market - duty free, which means businesses in Britain do not have to pay tax if they buy the American fuel. In return, the government secured tariff cuts on UK exports to the Foods set a deadline of 25 June to reach an agreement with the government about support. "Yesterday, our extended deadline for the government to deliver that solution passed," the company talks are continuing, AB Foods said: "Unless the government is able to provide both short-term funding of Vivergo's losses and a longer-term solution, we intend to close the plant once the consultation process has completed and the business has fulfilled its contractual obligations."
BBC News
18-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
'One week' to safeguard jobs at Vivergo biofuel plant, boss warns
Bosses at the UK's largest bioethanol plant say they will be forced to begin consulting on redundancies within the next week unless the government steps British Foods (ABF) said it was in talks with the government to help save its Vivergo Fuels site at Saltend, near Hull, after the removal of a 19% tariff on imports of ethanol from the Sugar chief executive Paul Kenward said it meant that the government had "given away the entre UK market for bioethanol". A government spokesperson said it was working closely with the industry to find a way forward. Speaking to BBC Radio Four, Mr Kenward said there was "a lot at stake".He said the industry was not asking for a "permanent subsidy", but needed "some bridging support from government until some simple common sense changes to regulation can be made".Mr Kenward said representatives from the industry had met with government officials, including Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds."Unfortunately, we gave a deadline which was the 15th [June]."They asked us to wait for another week – we gave them two – but if we don't hear back from them by 25 June we will have to start a consultation process, which may lead to redundancies," he Kenward's comments follow a similar announcement earlier this week by bosses at Ensus's Redcar bioethanol chairman Grant Pearson said the government needed to come up with a "urgent" solution to save skilled jobs in the region. In response, a government spokesperson said: "The deal agreed with the US will save thousands of jobs in the UK, and we will always act in the national interest."A meeting took place last week with representatives from the bioethanol industry "to discuss their concerns", the spokesperson Saltend plant produces bioethanol which is used in E10 petrol.E10 was introduced in 2021 to help cut carbon emissions and contains up to 10% also produces animal feed, which is a by-product of the bioethanol production process. Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
