Feedstock deliveries to German ethanol producer CropEnergies' Ensus ethanol plant in the UK suggest the plant is operating at around 75pc of capacity.
Production at the 315,000 t/yr capacity facility was halted in February 2015 — the third shutdown since it first opened in 2009 — amid concerns over its profitability. CropEnergies said in May it would restart for a trial run to test improvements made during the suspension, but has declined to comment on utilisation.
Cropenergies assumed ownership of Ensus plant in October 2013. It began to manage feedstock supplies itself, according to farmers' union NFU, buying from a range of local and national grain merchants and co-operatives. One such supplier confirmed it is delivering wheat to Cropenergies, and said the plant is processing around 75,000 t/month of the feedstock.
The UK's two ethanol plants each require about 1.1mn-1.2mn t/yr of wheat for feedstock to produce at full capacity, according to the NFU, meaning Ensus is taking in 75-82pc of required volumes for full-capacity operation, although this does not take into account potential stock building.
The supplier said Cropenergies pays a premium over the value of exports for wheat and therefore domestic processing as feedstock is usually preferable to a reliance on exports, provided local ethanol facilities are operational.
The UK's other ethanol plant, a 333,000 t/yr facility in Hull operated by Vivergo Fuels, is supplied with wheat by Frontier Agriculture, a joint venture between US company Cargill and UK food group ABF, as well as other merchants, co-operatives and farmers, according to the NFU.
The NFU expects UK ethanol demand to increase in the coming years, in line with recommended government targets for renewables. The parliamentary energy and climate change committee has urged the government to raise the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) — capped at 4.75pc since 2013 — without delay if it is to meet the 10pc renewable energy target for transport by 2020.
A roll-out of E10, a biofuel that comprises 90pc gasoline and 10pc ethanol, will also be required to adhere to such commitments, the committee said.
In mid-2015, Vivergo called on the government to move forward with the introduction of E10 to provide stability to the biofuel market, combat emissions levels, and to help diminish a record domestic wheat harvest.
Cropenergies has said it expects an "improvement in the revenues and earnings situations of bioethanol producers in Europe" stimulated in the near future by the increase of blending quotas and the introduction of E10 bioethanol in more EU member states.
But it warned in May 2016 that for the Ensus facility to operate on a permanent basis, "an early increase in the RTFO and the introduction of higher ethanol blends, for example E10, are needed."
An increase in blending mandates has met opposition from domestic organisations such as the Petrol Retailers Association, which said it would push up costs for UK fuel retailers. The UK's proportion of renewable transport fuel actually fell to 4.23pc in 2015 from 4.93pc a year earlier.
