Governmental support on energy and power prices brings some relief
Mannheim, 2 December 2022 – CropEnergies has decided to continue operations at the Ensus production plant in Wilton, UK, from January 2023 onwards. On 19 September 2022, CropEnergies AG, Mannheim, Germany, had communicated that the capacity utilisation of all its renewable ethanol production plants was continuously being assessed and that a decision on whether the current capacity utilization would be maintained from January 2023 onwards would be taken in the following weeks.
High prices for energy, power and raw materials continuously put pressure on the cost side. In addition, ethanol prices in Europe have decreased significantly since the end of the summer. The main reason for the latter is the significant volume of imports particularly from Brazil and the USA. Future prices for ethanol for 2023 have decreased accordingly. However, the UK Energy Bill Relief Scheme on gas and power, which has been implemented by the UK government for the time period from October 2022 until March 2023, will ease some of the cost pressure on the UK plant. The decision to continue operations at Ensus will also help to support UK consumers of biogenic CO2 during challenging supply conditions.
CropEnergies welcomes the support of the UK government, but stresses that an ongoing solution for energy-intensive companies needs to be found also post-March 2023. Ethanol producers particularly from Brazil and the USA are still benefitting from comparably much lower energy and raw material prices, therefore further pressure from imports on European ethanol prices cannot be ruled out.
CropEnergies AG
Sustainable, renewable products made from biomass – that is what CropEnergies stands for. Our products contribute to a climate-friendly world and ensure that fossil carbons remain in the ground permanently and do not continue to drive climate change.
Founded in Mannheim in 2006, the member of the Südzucker Group is the leading European producer of renewable ethanol. With a production capacity of 1.3 million m3 of ethanol per year, CropEnergies produces neutral alcohol as well as technical alcohol (ethanol) for a wide range of applications at locations in Germany, Belgium, the UK, and France: Sustainably produced ethanol as a petrol substitute is an answer to the future challenges of climate-friendly energy supply in the transport sector. Thanks to highly efficient production plants, our ethanol reduces CO2 emissions by an average of more than 70 percent across the entire value chain compared to fossil fuel. Our high-quality alcohol is also used in beverage production, cosmetics, pharmaceutical applications, for example as a basis for disinfectants, or as a raw material for innovative biochemicals.
Equally important are the resulting protein food and animal feed products as a sustainable regional alternative to emission-intensive protein imports from overseas, as well as biogenic carbon dioxide. It is used in beverage production, among other things, and will be a valuable raw material for a wide range of applications in transport and industry in the future. Thus, all raw material components are utilised in our circular economy.
CropEnergies AG (ISIN DE000A0LAUP1) is listed on the regulated market (Prime Standard) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.