Photo Credit Pannonia Ethanol Zrt.

Pannonia Ethanol Zrt. has announced plans to expand its biorefinery in Hungary now that the company has secured a Euro 135 million credit facility agreement with a group of Hungarian banks. The expansion will enable the corn-ethanol plant to cut costs, increase corn buying and animal feed output as well as add additional jobs.

“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,” said Mark Turley, CEO of Pannonia Ethanol’s parent company, Ethanol Europe Renewables (EERL). “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,” added Turley.

Eric Sievers, EERL Investment Director added, “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.”