Biofuels Corporation, which intends to be "Europe's leading biodiesel producer," began production Feb. 28 at its newly built facility near Seal Sands, Middlesbrough, on the northeast coast of England. Sean Sutcliffe, chief executive officer of Biofuels Corp., said the plant has an expected production capacity of nearly 250,000 metric tons per year. This site offers a deepwater port and a well-established infrastructure for transport and distribution.

The Middlesbrough plant uses process technology designed by Energea, an Austrian technology and design firm, Sutcliffe said. Energea developed the Continuous Trans Esterification Reactor (CTER), which transforms biogenic fats and oils into biodiesel with unprecedented speed.

Biofuels Corp. markets its own product into wholesale with nearly 50 percent of its expected output already sold under contract. The new plant will be "one of the largest facilities in Europe and certainly the largest in the U.K.," Sutcliffe said. Biofuels Corp. will use a combination of feedstocks, including canola, soybeans and palm oil, and will manage its own facilities.

Sutcliffe told Reuters News Service the firm has also agreed to a 30-year contract with Simon Storage, which will store and handle biodiesel near the plant at Teesside. Simon Storage invested 3.5 million pounds (US$6 million) on equipment at the facility. A sizeable amount of biodiesel will also move to a nearby refinery owned by Dutch oil refiner Petroplus after it agreed to buy around 350,000 metric tons in a five-year deal. Petroplus markets "Bioplus," a 95:5 blend of ultra-low-sulfur diesel and biodiesel.