BP Conglomerate Clears Way for UK Biofuels Plant

BP, along with Associated British Foods (ABF) and DuPont, says plans have already commenced for a world-scale bioethanol plant in the UK, with all companies having a long-term view of producing biobutanol once the necessary technology has matured.

Grain-trading business Frontier Agriculture and co-product marketing company AB Agri have already been approached by the conglomerate which says all formal agreements will be revealed once regulatory requirements have been met.

Both companies produce locally grown wheat which will help feed the Saltend, Hull facility on BP's existing chemicals site.

BP will own a 45% share of the plant with ABF subsidiary British Sugar, while Dupont will hold the remaining shares.

The plant is expected to be open for demonstration in 2009, just one year before government regulations start demanding petrol sales be made up of at least 5% biofuel.

But BP is looking much further than this for its plant – it says it expects to be importing biobutanol from China into the UK for testing on vehicles and infrastructure before operation begins.

BP says it wants to see if biobutanol really does have the same rumoured properties as unleaded petrol, and wants to track the environmental footprint of the fuel source.

Environmentalists have raised concerns that biofuels could lead to extensive farming and food-supply issues in the third world.