Strategic focussing of planned investments at CropEnergies

Mannheim (pts013/11.12.2024/10:00) - CropEnergies AG, Mannheim, is putting on hold the planned investment in a plant for the production of EnPro® high protein animal feed at the production site of its subsidiary Ensus UK Ltd. in Wilton, UK.

Currently, CropEnergies is investing in several major projects with high capital requirements. After intensive consideration, this decision was made following review of all projects in the current challenging market environment, which is affecting CropEnergies' profitability and on the back of rising investment costs, also for EnPro®.

"In addition to high inflation, particularly in the past two years, the persistently low world market price quotations for renewable ethanol and the resulting significant increase in import pressure are causing us to re-evaluate planned projects," says Dr Fritz Georg von Graevenitz, CEO of CropEnergies and adds: "Even though we continue to support this project and remain committed to Ensus, we have to prioritise our investments due to market developments and are actively looking at how the project could be alternately financed".

CropEnergies AG
Sustainable, renewable products made from biomass – that is what CropEnergies stands for.

The Mannheim-based group, founded in 2006, offers its partners sustainable products with certified greenhouse gas savings. The aim is to combine economic success with climate protection and ensure that fossil carbons remain in the ground permanently.

The biorefineries of CropEnergies Group in Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom and France operate a circular economy and utilise all raw material components: alcohol (ethanol), neutral alcohol, biogenic carbon dioxide and protein food and animal feed – a regional alternative to protein imports from overseas – are produced from regionally grown raw materials as well as residual and waste materials. Ethanol is used, among other things, as a climate-friendly petrol substitute, as it reduces CO2 emissions across the entire value chain by an average of over 70 percent compared to fossil fuel.

In the future, CropEnergies would like to contribute to the defossilisation of the chemical industry: with almost 100 percent CO2 -neutrally produced ethanol-based ethyl acetate.

CropEnergies is a member of the Südzucker Group and employs over 500 people.

(Ende)