Bad Soden, Germany,
07
October
2020
|
09:00
Europe/Amsterdam

Messer builds a new CO2 recovery plant in France and thus strengthens its market position

The largest family-run industrial gases specialist worldwide Messer is extending its partnership with Vertex Bioenergy and building a new, fully automated CO2 recovery plant at their site in Lacq. The plant can be operated remotely and is part of Messer's long-term company strategy. "We want to further diversify our CO2 sources thereby ensuring a reliable gas supply for our customers," emphasizes Stefan Messer, owner and CEO of the Messer Group GmbH. He adds: "The new plant will enable us to meet the growing demand of our customers in France and at the same time support the expansion of our CO2 business in northern Spain." Messer is investing around 11.3 million euros, thus doubling its production capacity in Lacq to 130,000 metric tons of raw CO2 per year in future. Commissioning is scheduled for July 2022.

The CO2 recovered by Messer is a by-product of the production process of Bioénergie du Sud-Ouest S.A., a company of Vertex Bioenergy. Thanks to its properties, carbon dioxide is a versatile gas that is used in the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, chemical, water treatment and paper industries, among others. "The use of CO2 offers both economic and ecological advantages for many processes and helps our customers to meet the challenges of their markets," explains Stefan Messer.

At its Lacq site, Vertex Bioenergy produces 235 million liters of bioethanol from corn every year, making it a European leader in the biofuel industry and the leading producer of bioethanol in Spain and France. Antonio José Vallespir de Gregorio, CEO of Vertex Bioenergy, is proud of the close cooperation with Messer: "With this project we can continue our sustainable development."

Boilerplate

Messer – Gases for Life

Messer was founded in 1898 and today is the largest family-run specialist for industrial, medical and specialty gases worldwide. Under the brand “Messer – Gases for Life” the company offers products and services in Europe, Asia and the Americas. The international activities are directed from Bad Soden near Frankfurt am Main. Stefan Messer, owner and CEO of the Messer Group GmbH, works together with about 11,000* employees worldwide according to defined principles: These include customer and employee orientation, responsible behaviour, corporate responsibility, excellence as well as trust and respect. Messer generated sales of about 2.8 billion* euros in 2019.

* Sum of Messer Group and Messer Industries including 100 percent of the at-equity investment in Messer Industries from 1 March 2019 onwards.

https://corporate.messergroup.com

http://www.gasesforlife.de

Messer France

Messer France has been helping professionals in many sectors for more than 40 years. Customers can rely on teams throughout France to have access to expert advice from the preparatory phase to the final implementation of their projects. This includes technical training, test phases at the Messer competence center or directly at the customer's premises.

https://www.messer.fr

Vertex Bioenergy

Vertex Bioenergy is a European leader in the biofuel industry. In Spain and France, Vertex Bioenergy is the leader in bioethanol production. Vertex Bioenergy produces other valuable products such as animal feed (DDGS), electricity, captured CO2 and corn oil. Vertex Bioenergy currently owns four bioethanol production plants in Spain and France with a total production capacity of 780 million liters, including wine alcohol units. Bioénergie du Sud-Ouest, a subsidiary of the Vertex Bioenergy Group, is the largest corn-based bioethanol production unit in France. The corn used is 100% local.

https://www.vertexbioenergy.com