The Management Board and Supervisory Board of the German company Nordzucker AG have given the goahead for the construction of a bioethanol plant as an annex to the sugar factory in Klein Wanzleben. “The environmental policy backed strategy for renewable energies has now become incorporated in the legislation. The planned mandatory mixing of bioethanol with car fuel from January 2007, and the rise in crude oil prices, have significantly improved the economic framework and made this project economically feasible for Nordzucker,” says Management Board Chairman Dr. Ulrich Nöhle.

 

According to the company, the actual realisation of the construction project, with an estimated capital expenditure of around Euro 70 million, is still subject to certain reservations: the sugar beet – the raw material for the plant – must be covered by long term contracts with the beet farmers at prices tied to the price development of the bioethanol market. The plant will also only process “surplus sugar beet” i.e. beet not covered by the sugar quota.

However, the plans foresee the construction of a plant with an annual production capacity of 130,000 cubic metres of bioethanol. Commissioning is scheduled for October 2007. Authorisation and plans for the plant have been in place since 2003. Up to 35 permanent jobs could be created by the construction of the plant.

“A large number of discussions with policy makers, associations and the government of Saxony-Anhalt are still required to reach agreement on the framework supporting the construction of the plant. We are confident that decisions can be reached quickly on all sides,” says technical director Günter Jakobiak.