Biodiesel producer Biox has acquired the idled 50 million litre per annum biodiesel facility in Sombra, Ontario from Methes Energies Canada.
Canada-headed biodiesel producer and process technology developer Biox Corp., has announced it has acquired a 50 million litre nameplate capacity biodiesel facility in Sombra, Ontario from Methes Energies Canada Inc. Originally constructed in 2009, the currently idled facility has not achieved nameplate capacity. In addition to the US$4.5 million price tag, Biox is to spend C$5 million over the next 12 months on efficiency upgrades and widening the feedstock range to include animal fats and used cooking oils (UCO). Biox already owns and operates a 67 million litre per annum biodiesel facility in Hamilton and currently supplies biodiesel to Shell Canada Ltd through an inter-terminal pipeline
that feeds directly to the Shell distribution terminal located adjacent to the plant.
In April 2014 the province of Ontario implemented the Greener Diesel programme with a mandatory bio-component blend in all diesel sold in the province, 4 percent from 2017 onward. This translates into an estimated demand of 240 million litres of bio-based diesel on an average greenhouse gas (GHG) adjusted volume basis in 2017.
– The Sombra acquisition represents a 75 percent increase in our production capacity and fits our
strategy to control and distribute more gallons, leveraging our existing Sales and Marketing
capabilities. We believe the Ontario market will play an increasingly important role in our
distribution network. The implementation of the Greener Diesel program in Ontario, with its
increasing blend rates and move toward lower carbon intensity fuels in 2017, made Sombra an
attractive asset, said Alan Rickard, CEO of Biox in a statement.
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