Further expansion for Pannonia Ethanol plant in Tolna County, Hungary

Pannonia Ethanol Zrt. announces that it has successfully completed a Euro 135 million credit facility agreement with a consortium of Hungarian banks. The facility will support expansion at the company’s Dunaföldvár, Hungary biorefinery, investment in new projects, cost reduction, additional jobs, and increases in both corn buying and animal feed output.

“The plant is already the largest biorefinery in Europe. This investment further reduces costs and increases production capacity across the board. It also supports the introduction of innovative new bioproducts that promise significant benefits for human and animal health”, Mark Turley, CEO of Pannonia Ethanol’s parent, Ethanol Europe Renewables (EERL) said.

“The Dunaföldvár plant currently supports over 2,000 direct and indirect jobs in the Tolna County region. The expansion will increase employment further, both directly and through the plant’s strong economic multiplier effect. Maize purchasing from farmers will exceed 1 million tons in 2017,” Mr Turley said.

“We are very pleased that this facility has been provided by a consortium of Hungarian banks, the Budapest Bank, Hungarian Export-Import Bank, K&H Bank and Raiffeisen Bank. The package provides new credit capacity for our normal working operations, finances an expansion of ethanol/animal feed production capacity and restructures existing low debt levels on a more economic basis,” Eric Sievers, EERL Investment Director said.

Speaking today during a trade promotion visit to Ireland by Dr. László Szabó, Deputy Minister and Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Mr Turley said: “We are formally seeking the support of the Governments of Hungary and Ireland to reject the European Commission’s plan to “phase out”, i.e. eradicate, the conventional ethanol industry by 2030. The Commission’s action has no economic, climate or scientific basis and will kill hundreds of thousands of jobs and deprive tillage farmers of billions in badly needed farm income.”