Monday, 8th July saw the official opening of the new £350 million Vivergo bioethanol plant in Hull. The plant was opened by the Rt. Hon Vince Cable MP, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
Frontier has the exclusive contract to supply wheat to the site through its Humber Gold club members. Once Vivergo is at full production it will require 1.1 million tonnes of wheat annually.
The new plant is the UK's biggest bioethanol producer and largest single-source supplier of animal feed providing valuable commodities that the UK would usually import.
Using animal feed grade wheat, which previously would have been exported, Vivergo will become the UK's biggest wheat buyer, taking 1.1 million tonnes a year.
The Vivergo plant, a joint venture between AB Sugar, BP, and DuPont, will produce 420 million litres of bioethanol a year at full capacity, equivalent to a third of the UK's current demand. Bioethanol is a renewable transport fuel which is added to petrol.
Vivergo will also produce 500,000 tonnes a year of protein-rich animal feed for the UK market, which is sufficient to feed around a fifth of the UK's dairy herd.
Vivergo's bioethanol will offer greenhouse gas savings in excess of 50% over standard petrol; this is equivalent to the current emissions of more than 180,000 UK cars a year.
Rt. Hon Vince Cable MP, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills said: "Vivergo is a good example of how joint ventures, using the financial support and expertise of big companies, can not only help create local jobs but help meet the energy security and fuel demands of our country and support local farmers.
"I hope that Vivergo will set a trend for other companies to invest in this area especially in the renewable energy sector," he said.
As the commissioning process continues and production ramps up, Frontier will be recruiting more members to the Humber Gold wheat club. Farmers interested in joining the club to enjoy a range of member benefits should contact Frontier on 01522 860025 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
