VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG / Miscellaneous
25.11.2008
Release of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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Federal Cabinet forces over 25% of biofuel manufacturers into bankruptcy
Berlin, 25 November 2008
German bioethanol manufactured from grain emits up to 80% less CO2 than
fossil fuels. These are the findings of a study carried out by the
Heidelberg IFEU Institute (Institute for Energy and Environmental Research)
and commissioned by the biofuel manufacturer VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie
AG. 'We are very gratified by the positive results which have emerged from
this investigation of our production plants. With the impetus provided by
the enormous potential of our production techniques, VERBIO will be
commissioning the worlds two largest biogas plants next year,' says Claus
Sauter, VERBIOs CEO. 'The best part about it is that the raw material for
the biogas production is a waste product of the ethanol production.'
Despite the technological progress being made and the CO2-efficiency of
biofuels, the manufacturers are facing a wave of bankruptcies due to
planned legislation. According to a proposal tabled by the Federal Cabinet,
the present level of 7.6% for biofuels in the total fuel market is to be
drastically reduced in the coming year. The anticipated proportion of the
market covered by biodiesel and bioethanol would then amount to only 5.6%.
With this step, the government would cause the entire biofuel market to
shrink by over 25%, which would mean that German production facilities
would be working at just over half their total capacities. 'We appeal to
the Federal Government not to pass this legislation. It would mean that the
medium sized enterprises which have established themselves since 2004 would
disappear from the market, and only a few major companies would survive,'
says Johannes Lackmann, Managing Director of the German Biofuels Industry
Association (VDB). 'The Federal Government is acting quite irrationally,
for without biofuels accounting for an increasing proportion of the total
market, its own targets in combating climate change get further and further
out of reach.'
Amongst other things, these targets include reducing CO2 emissions through
the use of biofuels. For this reason the IFEU Institute undertook an
examination of the production techniques for the manufacture of bioethanol
at VERBIOs two facilities in Schwedt/Oder and Zörbig, with the aim of
determining how much CO2 can be avoided under the prevailing production
conditions. The results show that all the techniques and plants under
investigation return significantly better CO2 savings than the 30% which
are specified in the German Biomass Sustainability Ordinance.
As the Zörbig plant also produces biogas by using the waste products from
the primary production process, and the straw is used as a source of energy
as well, this is where the highest CO2 savings are achieved: more than 80%
compared with fossil fuels. In its study, the IFEU included all factors
influencing the overall energy balance, including the recovery of
fertiliser from the plants used.
VERBIOs production techniques for bioethanol or E85 production already
count amongst the most efficient methods for avoiding CO2 emissions whilst
maintaining unrestricted mobility. Thanks to tax concessions, E85 costs
less than 1 euro a litre. This means that environmentally friendly driving
can be combined with good value for money. Many manufacturers include in
their product range so-called Flexifuel Vehicles (FFV), which can be
fuelled using either petrol or E85. But even older vehicles with petrol
engines can be easily converted to E85. More information on this subject is
available at www.e85-biokraftstoff.de
VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG
Sandra Haacker (Public Relations)
Anna-Maria Schneider (Investor Relations)
Augustusplatz 9
04109 Leipzig
Phone: +49 (0) 341 30 85 30 90
Fax: +49 (0) 341 30 85 30 99
Email: pr@verbio.de/ir@verbio.de
www.verbio.de
Verband der Deutschen Biokraftstoffindustrie (VDB)
Frank Brühning
Pressesprecher
Am Weidendamm 1A
10117 Berlin
+49 (0) 30 72 62 59 54
Email: bruehning@biokraftstoffverband.de
www.biokraftstoffverband.de
Information concerning VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG
The VERBIO group is one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers of
biofuels and also Europes only industrial scale producer of biodiesel and
bioethanol. The current nominal annual production capacities are around
450,000 tonnes for biodiesel and 300,000 tonnes for bioethanol. For the
production of both fuel types VERBIO AG has developed its own, innovative
production techniques and technologies. It supplies European petroleum
groups, petroleum trading companies, independent fuel retailers and
transport companies directly. In addition, VERBIO AG supplies high quality
pharma glycerine to the consumer and cosmetics industries (glycerine is a
by-product of biodiesel production). VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG acts
as the management holding company for the VERBIO group. Business operations
are delegated to the subsidiary companies VERBIO Diesel Bitterfeld GmbH &
Co. KG, VERBIO Diesel Schwedt GmbH & Co. KG, VERBIO Ethanol Schwedt GmbH &
Co. KG, VERBIO Ethanol Zörbig GmbH & Co. KG and VERBIO STS AG.
DGAP 25.11.2008
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Language: English
Issuer: VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG
Augustusplatz 9
04109 Leipzig
Deutschland
Phone: +49 (0)341 30 85 30 90
Fax: +49 (0)341 30 85 30 98
E-mail: ir@verbio.de
Internet: www.verbio.de
ISIN: DE000A0JL9W6
WKN: A0JL9W
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr
in Berlin, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, München
End of News DGAP News-Service
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DGAP-News: VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG: German bioethanol saves up to 80% CO2 emissions
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