Britain’s bioethanol industry is facing collapse after the Government refused a taxpayer bailout, putting thousands of jobs at risk.
One of the country’s biggest plants has announced plans to close.
It came following the decision to withhold financial aid after Labour gave the go-ahead for cheap US imports to flood the market.
Hull-based Vivergo, which is owned by London-listed Associated British Foods (ABF), said the choice not to support a ‘key national asset’ was ‘deeply regrettable’. About 170 jobs are at risk, as well as 4,000 roles in the supply chain.
Unions said ‘the Government is choosing to effectively ship jobs abroad’. Bioethanol, which is made from wheat, corn or sugar beet, is added to products including E10 petrol.
The future of the sector was thrown into doubt by Keir Starmer’s trade pact with Donald Trump, which opened the door to tariff-free imports of 1.4billion litres of ethanol from across the Pond. The deal, which removed a 19 per cent levy, sparked fears that domestic suppliers would be unable to compete, and British wheat farmers would be left without a vital source of demand.
Struggle: The future of the sector was thrown into doubt by Keir Starmer’s trade pact with Donald Trump
Bioethanol makers Vivergo Fuels and Ensus had warned that without government support they would be forced to close after the agreement made their businesses ‘commercially unviable’. But the German-owned Ensus plant in North Yorkshire will continue to hold talks with ministers.
That is because it also makes nearly a third of the UK’s commercial carbon dioxide, a by-product of bioethanol used in fizzy drinks and the medical and nuclear industries.
ABF warned that clean energy jobs would move overseas. It said: ‘In making this decision, the Government has thrown away billions in potential growth in the Humber, a sovereign capability in clean fuels that had the chance to lead the world.’
The Government said it had taken ‘the difficult decision not to offer direct funding as it would not provide value for the taxpayer or solve the long-term problems the industry faces.’
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Britain’s bioethanol industry facing collapse as ministers refuse bailout