Biofuel Bolsters Economy and Environment - Humber LEP Responds to E10 Consultation

by David Laister (Business Live) Department for Transport gets response from home of UK's largest bioethanol plant -- ... Biofuels are being explored as Net Zero commitments loom large, with the Humber home to the UK’s largest bioethanol plant, mothballed due to delays in target implementation.

Now the Department for Transport is consulting on use, with a strong case put forward.

Welcomed at the launch, and now formally responding to the ask, the Humber Local Enterprise Partnership has advised E10 use - as it is known - would not only have a positive environmental impact, but could also help the Humber economy to grow.

Hull-based Vivergo Fuels employed more than 150 people and supported many farms in the region, but the £350 million plant stopped producing in late 2018, with legislative uncertainty high on the reasoning.

“The Humber has higher than average transport emissions but many families are not in a position to buy electric vehicles and as such our region’s EV ownership rate is around half the national average. Even with Government plans to end the sale of fossil fuelled vehicles, we will still have them on the road into the 2050s and need a way to lower their emissions in this interim period. The use of low carbon renewable fuels such as bioethanol is ideal for this and requires no behavioural change from motorists – just pick up the pump and fill your car as normal, but the fuel is greener.

Locally, bioethanol is made mostly from low-grade wheat which wouldn’t be suitable for human consumption. A by-product is animal feed which also supports the local economy and reduces imports. As a low-carbon renewable fuel it can be blended with petrol to reduce emissions.

The Humber LEP’s energy strategy, released in February, identifies supporting biofuels and decarbonising transport as key projects.