Cargill Opens New Advanced Biodiesel Plant in Belgium

Global agribusiness giant Cargill has announced the opening of its new advanced biodiesel plant in Ghent, Belgium.  Under construction since late 2020, the USD150 million project was designed and built by Austrian technology provider BDI-BioEnergy International utilizing its patented RepCat process. 

The facility can produce 35 million gallons per year of high-quality biodiesel from the lowest-quality wastes and residues such as used cooking oils, tallow, and residues from edible oil production utilizing the industry-leading RepCat process.  The process offers feedstock flexibility and employs a repeatable, or recyclable catalyst, Cargill said.  The advanced biodiesel produced at the facility will be used by the maritime and trucking sectors, it said.

The Cargill project is one of the largest waste-to-biofuel facilities in Europe.  Although Cargill has several biodiesel manufacturing facilities around the world, the new one is Cargill’s first such plant making biodiesel from waste materials and is co-located at its existing oilseed crush and Bioro biodiesel site in Ghent.  Cargill stated that the facility supports the circular economy, giving new purpose to products that previously were disposed of, or relegated to low-value applications.