German Company Acquires Ethanol Plant; Planning $230M Expansion
The North American subsidiary of Germany-based Verbio AG is making its move into Indiana.
Verbio North America Holdings Corp. announced Monday it has acquired South Bend Ethanol LLC, the state’s first large scale ethanol production plant, though financial terms of the deal are not being disclosed. However, Verbio said it plans to invest $230 million over the next three years to expand and develop the plant into a modern refinery that will include the production of renewable natural gas.
The company integrating the existing ethanol production at the plant with the RNG production proecess will create higher efficiencies and improved sustainability.
“We believe this transaction provides an excellent path for Verbio to further strengthen its North America business and growth strategy,” Stefan Schreiber, executive board member for North America at Verbio AG, said in a news release. “The site offers a competitive location as well as existing infrastructure and meets our requirements for access to the natural gas grid, electricity, feedstock sources and water supply.”
Once fully operational, the plant will be able to produce 85 million gallons of corn ethanol and 2.8 million cubic feet of RNG annually, Verbio said.
