Cargill invests in new advanced biodiesel plant in Ghent, Belgium

29-10-2020 | Cargill plans to invest in the construction of a new multi wastes and residues based biodiesel plant in Ghent, Belgium.
The investment for plant will be around 150 million euros.

Cargill already has an operating multi-seed crush plant and a semi-refinery for vegetable oils present on the Bioro site. Here, it works together with Biodiesel Holding and Vanden Avenne. With this joint venture, Cargill has the ability to provide complete end-to-end biodiesel production at a single integrated location.

According to Roger Janson, President of Cargill’s Agricultural Supply Chain across EMEA, the market will require new assets capable of processing more difficult feedstocks.  “The new Cargill facility in Ghent will be the first plant in Europe capable of processing all kinds of feedstocks, including acid oils from vegetable oil refining, liquid residues from industrial processes, and even the fat recovered from sewage sludge from local municipalities,” he said.

This investment of Cargill follows the new directions for biofuels stated in the new Renewable Energy Directive (REDII) of the EU. REDII promotes the shift to new advanced biofuels based on waste and residues to reach the renewable energy targets. The plant will use very latest technology of BDI-BioEnergy International GmbH that enables the processing of all types of liquid waste oils and fats, giving them an advantage.

“In certain sectors, such as transportation, developing high blend solutions for trucks or significantly less low carbon marine fuel can only be achieved with this waste treatment technology. Advanced biodiesel from waste and residues will provide concrete, cost-effective solutions with significant benefits for the citizen, the community and the environment,” said Alexis Cazin, Managing Director, Cargill Biodiesel.

The production capacity of the biodiesel plant would be around 115,000 metric tons per year. Construction will commence in October 2020, with the plant due to open in June 2022.

The complete announcement of Cargill on the investment can be read here.

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