Ensus to invest in new animal feed facilities on Teesside
The Ensus plant © Ensus UK Teesside biofuel operator Ensus UK is to build a new £60m-£70m animal feed plant at its Wilton International plant, as one of a number of major new projects.
The biorefinery already produces about 350,000t/year of dried distillers’ grains with solubles (DDGS) as a by-product, primarily used by UK cattle and pig farmers.
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The new facility, which will be commissioned in 2025, will enable Ensus to produce a new high-protein feed, EnPro, aimed at the aquafeed and pet food markets
In a separate investment, Ensus also plans to replace one of its feed driers at the plant, and upgrade a second. A project to install a mechanical vapour recompression unit will also cut carbon dioxide emissions.
The total sum invested will be about £90m by 2025.
Ensus UK chairman Grant Pearson said the moves were a sign of parent company CropEnergies AG’s commitment to the business.
“By taking feed grains primarily used to feed cattle and turning them into higher-protein feeds with wider feedstuff applications, we are not only diversifying our product range and overall sustainability, but also helping to address the UK’s protein shortage.”
The Ensus plant, which produces about 400m litres of bioethanol a year from more than 1m tonnes of feed grains is one of the largest in Europe.