Mannheim, 26 October 2010 - Bioethanol produced at the plants of CropEnergies AG, Mannheim, in Zeitz (Saxony-Anhalt) and Wanze (Belgium) conforms to all the requirements of the German Biofuel Sustainability Regulation.
Both plants and the company's tank storage facilities in Rotterdam and Duisburg were certified in October 2010. CropEnergies can therefore prove that bioethanol is produced sustainably at the plants. Consequently, CropEnergies will continue to serve as a reliable partner for the mineral oil industry, which will be required to meet its blending quota obligations in Germany with certified bioethanol as from 1 January 2011.
The CropEnergies bioethanol plants were certified by DQS GmbH Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Zertifizierung von Managementsystemen, Frankfurt/Main, an independent evaluator, according to the REDcert certification system. REDcert was developed by leading German agriculture and biofuel industry associations and organisations, and received final approval from the Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food (Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung - BLE) in July 2010. Certification according to REDcert satisfies the requirements of the German Biofuel Sustainability Regulation, passed in November 2009, which links the promotion of fuels from biomass to compliance with specific sustainability criteria as from 1 January 2011.
Creating value through sustainability is the business model pursued by CropEnergies. This includes the co-product concept which aims to completely utilize raw materials. With the successful certification, CropEnergies is demonstrating that, with its modern and efficient plants, the company can align economics with ecology. This strengthens CropEnergies' position as a pioneer in the European bioethanol market.
CropEnergies AG
CropEnergies - a member of the Südzucker Group - is a leading European supplier of sustainably produced bioethanol for the fuel sector. "Crop" stands for "creative regeneration of power". Energy in the form of bioethanol is produced from renewable resources - grain and sugar beets. The components of the raw materials not used to produce bioethanol, such as proteins, are processed into high-quality food and animal feed products.
CropEnergies sees itself as a pioneer in the German bioethanol market and is expanding its market position throughout Europe. With subsidiaries in Germany, Belgium, and France, CropEnergies is one of the leading bioethanol producers in the European growth market for renewable energies. The shares of CropEnergies AG (ISIN DE000A0LAUP1) are listed in the Official Market (Prime Standard) on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.