Industrial gases specialist Messer has announced the extension of its partnership with bioethanol producer Vertex Bioenergy through the building a new, fully automated CO2 recovery plant at their site in Lacq, France.
Messer, Lacq
The plant can be operated remotely and is part of Messer's long-term company strategy.
"We want to further diversify our CO2 sources thereby ensuring a reliable gas supply for our customers," said Stefan Messer, owner and CEO of the Messer Group GmbH.
"The new plant will enable us to meet the growing demand of our customers in France and at the same time support the expansion of our CO2 business in northern Spain."
Messer is investing around €11.3 million - doubling its production capacity - in Lacq to 130,000 metric tonnes of raw CO2 per year in future. Commissioning is scheduled for July 2022.
The CO2 recovered by Messer is a by-product of the production process of Bioénergie du Sud-Ouest S.A., a company of Vertex Bioenergy. Thanks to its properties, carbon dioxide is a versatile gas that is used in the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, chemical, water treatment and paper industries, among others.
"The use of CO2 offers both economic and ecological advantages for many processes and helps our customers to meet the challenges of their markets," said Messer.
At its Lacq site, Vertex Bioenergy produces 235 million litres of bioethanol from corn every year, making it a European leader in the biofuel industry and the leading producer of bioethanol in Spain and France. Antonio José Vallespir de Gregorio, CEO of Vertex Bioenergy, said: "With this project we can continue our sustainable development."
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