Punj Lloyd arm to set up world’s largest ethanol unit

Simon Carves Ltd, a subsidiary of Punj Lloyd Ltd, a global energy and infrastructure EPC services provider, will design and construct the world’s largest wheat-based bio-ethanol production facility.

The plant, being constructed for The Ensus Group, will also be the first global scale facility to be built in the UK. It will mark a major step in meeting the EU bio-fuel obligations. Full production is likely to commence by early 2009, with the construction work starting in the second quarter of this year, a company statement said. The plant is likely to have an initial capacity of 400 million litres.

The facility will be built at the Wilton International site in Teesside, an integrated petrochemical complex in Northeast England.

This prestigious contract with Ensus comes close on heels of Simon Carves’ recent LOI to build 300 ktpa LDPE plant in Saudi Arabia.

Ensus Ltd is owned by global private equity firm The Carlyle Group and energy-focused Riverstone Holdings The investment is the first of a series of global scale facilities planned for construction by Ensus throughout Europe.

The production of bio-ethanol from the plant will contribute significantly to EU’s strategy to scale back dependency on fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The EU council of ministers recently endorsed a 10% binding minimum target for the share of bio-fuels in the grouping’s overall transport fuels by 2020 to be achieved by member states.