Raffinerie Tirlemontoise and Südzucker will build Biowanze, a bioethanol factory of 300.000 m³ with an investment of 245 million euro.

Biowanze, an innovative green bioethanol production factory, benefiting from the European sugar leader's expertise, opens exceptional economic opportunities for Belgium.

• With this decision we fully support the federal bio fuel policy which aims:
  • To reduce our energy dependency
  • To limit our CO2 emissions
  • To create a new economic sector in Belgium (from agriculture to bio fuel, whilt developing employment
• BioWanze will have from the start a yearly capacity of 300.000 m³
• The condition for this is to obtain an appropriate annual volume within the national tender.

BioWanze provides important economic benefits for Belgium, the Wanze region and Belgian agriculture.

• Wanze at the river Meuse and in the heart of the best sugar beet and cereal zones of the country, is the best location for anchoring the production of bio ethanol in Belgian agriculture, whilst benefiting from the logistics that boats of 2000 t offer.  
• BioWanze, just next to the biggest Belgian sugar plant, can therefore exploit both its excellent mastery of treating vegetal sources as well as the experience of the group in producing and commercialising ethanol from grain, sugar beet and maize.
• The raw material will be wheat and sugar beets. By extracting the protein fraction of the wheat and using the remaining bran as an energy source for the plant, BioWanze becomes a unique industrial concept.
• BioWanze moreover will provide important direct and indirect employment as well as reinforce Belgian agriculture by transforming more than a million tons of cereals and beets each year.