Alco group

What Alco group does

Alco Group (ALCOGROUP SA) is a privately held Belgian company headquartered in Brussels that operates one of Europe's largest bioethanol production and distribution platforms. Its assets span five continents via wholly owned production subsidiaries (Alco Energy Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Alco Bio Fuel in Ghent, Belgium, Alco Energy Canada in Ontario, Alco NCP in Durban, South Africa) and joint ventures (Omnicane Ethanol in Mauritius), supported by distribution units Alcodis (European fuel ethanol) and Alcotra (international specialized alcohols). The group reports combined annual fuel ethanol capacity of 1.4 billion litres, DDGS protein-feed output of 950,000 tonnes, cogeneration capacity of 60 MW, and biogenic CO2 capture of approximately 600,000 tonnes per year.

The technology backbone is a full-product-range biorefinery that ferments non-GMO European corn, sugar-cane molasses, and waste streams (e.g., zero-percent beer alcohol) into bioethanol, then extracts DDGS, corn oil, and biogenic CO2, with combined-heat-and-power (cogeneration) gas turbines supplying process steam and electricity. Alco Bio Fuel in Ghent was the first plant worldwide to obtain ISCC sustainable certification, and the company holds 90%+ GHG-savings claims versus gasoline. The GreenCO2 joint venture with Messer Benelux and IJsfabriek Strombeek has invested 25 million euros across two capture lines at Ghent alone.

Commercially, Alco sells through direct enterprise sales and its captive channel subsidiaries: Alcodis distributes over 1 billion litres of European fuel ethanol per year, and Alcotra distributes 850+ million litres of specialized alcohols per year across 5 continents to oil companies, fuel blenders, food and beverage manufacturers, cosmetics and pharmaceutical firms, and greenhouse horticulture operators. The stated ambition is to be a global ethanol player, supported by 30 years of operational history, a 2024 North American expansion (Alco Energy Canada acquisition, IGPC announced), and a Climate Plan targeting climate-neutral biorefineries by 2030 — twenty years ahead of the EU's 2050 goal.

Name

Alco group

Legal name

ALCOGROUP SA

Website

https://alcogroup.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Alco Group is a privately held Belgian bioethanol producer and global ethanol distributor operating biorefinery assets across Europe, Canada, and Africa. It produces fuel and specialized-grade bioethanol, biogenic CO2, DDGS protein feed, corn oil, and renewable electricity for fuel blenders, food & beverage, pharmaceutical, and industrial customers across five continents.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Bioethanol and renewable fuel manufacturing

NAICS

Ethyl Alcohol Manufacturing (325193), Other Basic Organic Chemical Manufacturing (32519)

SIC

Industrial Organic Chemicals (2860), Wholesale-Chemicals & Allied Products (5160)

akta.pro primary industry

Grain & Sugar-Based Ethanol Production (EUAAAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Bio-based Animal Feed Ingredients & Nutrition Co-products (e.g., DDGS, protein meals, yeast) (EUAAAIAI), Bio-based Platform & Commodity Chemicals (e.g., bio-ethylene, bio-propylene, bio-BTX, bio-methanol) (EUAAAIAA), Industrial Alcohols & Glycols (Commodity Grade) (IMAEAAAK)

Keywords

• Bioethanol production
• Biorefinery operations
• Green CO2 capture
• Animal feed proteins
• Sustainable fuel distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

Bruyelle

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Fuel Ethanol Production and Sales: Alco produces and sells bioethanol for fuel applications (E10 blending). Alco Energy Rotterdam is Europe's largest plant of its kind; Alco Bio Fuel Ghent was the first ISCC-certified biorefinery worldwide. Combined European and Canadian production reaches 1,400 million litres annually. Alcodis distributes within Europe via barges, trains, trucks and drums, with over 1 billion litres per year in sales volume.
2. Food & Industry Ethanol Distribution: Alco distributes specialized high-quality alcohol grades (neutral grade alcohol) worldwide for use in food (vinegar, flavours), beverages (gin, vodka), cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, solvents, and anti-freeze. International distribution through Alcotra (Europe and Geneva) sells over 850 million litres per year across 5 continents to hundreds of clients. Alco NCP in Durban is the largest producer of neutral grade alcohol in Africa.
3. Green CO2 Capture and Sales: Biogenic CO2 captured from fermentation is sold to greenhouse horticulture, food and beverage industry, water purification, refrigeration transport, and dry ice producers. Alco captures approximately 600,000 tons of CO2 annually across its two production sites. The GreenCO2 joint venture with Messer Benelux and IJsfabriek Strombeek handles capture and distribution. CO2 capture avoids equivalent fossil-based CO2 emissions in end-use sectors.
4. High-Protein Animal Feed (DDGS): Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles (DDGS) is a high-protein animal feed co-produced alongside ethanol. Production reaches 950,000 tonnes annually in Europe and Canada. DDGS replaces imports of genetically modified soya from North and South America and is the only producer of DDGS in Africa (Alco NCP).
5. Corn Oil: Corn oil extracted during the ethanol production process is sold as a food or feed ingredient and as a biodiesel feedstock.
6. Electricity Generation (Cogeneration): Gas turbines at Alco's biorefineries generate up to 60 MW of electricity annually, partly self-consumed in the production process and partly reinjected into the public electricity network. This is a co-product of the biorefinery's combined heat and power system.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Alco Group produces and distributes bioethanol and co-products from corn-based biorefineries. Its core portfolio comprises fuel-grade ethanol for blending, food and industrial-grade ethanol for beverages, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) high-protein animal feed, food and feed-grade corn oil, captured biogenic green CO2, and electricity from combined heat and power cogeneration. The company combines large-scale European production (Ghent and Rotterdam), Canadian output (Ontario), African facilities (Durban and Mauritius) and owned distribution subsidiaries Alcodis (Europe) and Alcotra (global) to serve industrial buyers on five continents.

Product overview

Alco Group is a multi-product bio-refining company operating across Europe, North America, and Africa. The core product portfolio centers on bioethanol production (fuel grade and food/industrial grade) with co-products including green CO2 captured during fermentation, DDGS high-protein animal feed, corn oil, and cogenerated electricity. The company operates a platform-plus-production model with distinct production facilities (Alco Energy Rotterdam, Alco Bio Fuel in Ghent, Alco Energy Canada, Alco NCP in South Africa, and Omnicane joint venture in Mauritius) feeding into integrated distribution networks (Alcodis, Alcotra Europe, Alcotra Geneva) that deliver products worldwide to energy, food, beverage, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and industrial sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ethanol for Fuel Bio ethanol, a clean-burning fuel and octane booster produced from renewable sources (corn, beet, wheat) or from waste (alcohol from zero% beer), supplied for petrol blending (E5/E10). In Europe the bioethanol is produced with a net greenhouse-gas saving of more than 90% compared to petrol.
• Ethanol for Food and Industry High-quality neutral-grade alcohol supplied worldwide for food (vinegar, flavours), beverages (gin, vodka), and industrial use (chemicals, solvents, anti-freeze, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals).
• Green CO2 Biogenic CO2 captured during fermentation of sugars in bioethanol production and sold to greenhouse horticulture, food and beverage, dry ice, refrigeration transport and water purification, replacing fossil-derived CO2 and improving the carbon footprint of ethanol.
• Proteins (DDGS) High-protein animal feed (Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles) produced alongside ethanol, used as a non-GMO alternative that replaces imports of genetically modified soya from North and South America.
• Corn Oil Oil extracted from corn during ethanol production, used as a food or feed ingredient and as a biodiesel feedstock.
• Electricity (Cogeneration) Electricity generated from gas turbines via combined heat and power (cogeneration), partly used internally and partly reinjected into the public grid, reducing natural-gas consumption by around 30% relative to separate heat and power generation.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90%+ GHG emission savings vs gasoline — bioethanol with greenhouse gas savings well above 90% compared to gasoline
• +6 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• IGPC (Aylmer, Ontario)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2024Alcogroup announced the acquisition of IGPC in Aylmer, Ontario, the second-largest Canadian ethanol producer, in November 2024. The acquisition is intended to consolidate Alco's ambition to be a global player in the ethanol sector and expand its North American production capacity alongside the existing Alco Energy Canada operations in Ontario.
• GreenCO2 (Messer Benelux + IJsfabriek Strombeek + Alco Bio Fuel JV)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 May 2022GreenCO2 is a joint venture between Alco Bio Fuel, Messer Benelux (industrial gas supplier), and IJsfabriek Strombeek for capturing and reusing biogenic CO2 from Alco's fermentation process. Total investment of 25 million euros: 15 million euros for the first CO2 capture line (2015) and 10 million euros for the second capture line (2022), which increased annual capture to 160,000 tonnes at the Ghent site. The JV supplies green CO2 to horticulture, food & beverage, water purification, refrigeration transport, and chemistry sectors, replacing fossil CO2.
• Omnicane EthanolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOmnicane Ethanol is a joint venture between Omnicane Ethanol and Alcogroup based in Mauritius, with an installed capacity of 25 million litres of ethanol produced from sugar cane molasses. The JV produces fair trade-certified ethanol, extending Alco's production footprint to Africa and the Indian Ocean region. Omnicane Ethanol is certified as a producer of fair trade ethanol.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Valero Renewable Fuels: Division of Valero Energy operating 12 US ethanol plants with corn-oil and DDGS output. Broader incumbent with a non-specialized renewable-fuels arm supplementing its core refining business.
• Bunge Global SA: Major agribusiness and food company with corn-ethanol and protein-feed operations. Overlapping commodities exposure and a comparable co-product strategy even though ethanol is one of multiple segments.
• Archer Daniels Midland (ADM): Global agricultural commodities giant with significant corn-ethanol production capacity across the US, plus animal feed and oilseed processing. Comparable as a diversified agri-commodity incumbent with embedded ethanol operations.

Direct peers

• Tereos: French cooperative producing ethanol from sugar beet and grains, with integrated animal feed and starch operations. Direct European competitor in grain/sugar-based ethanol with similar biorefinery co-product strategy.
• CropEnergies AG: Germany-based bioethanol producer listed in Frankfurt, manufacturing fuel ethanol and protein co-products from grain and sugar beet. Closest European publicly listed peer with overlapping fuel ethanol, DDGS, and CO2 capture operations.
• Green Plains Inc. US-based ethanol producer with biorefinery platform producing low-carbon ethanol, DDGS, and corn oil. Direct North American peer with overlapping product portfolio and renewable-fuel positioning.
• Südzucker AG: Germany-headquartered sugar producer with a significant bioethanol division (CropEnergies subsidiary) producing fuel ethanol from sugar beet. Comparable vertically integrated sugar/ethanol platform.
• POET LLC: World's largest grain ethanol producer, operating 28 biorefineries across the US. Comparable product mix (ethanol + DDGS + corn oil) and similar biorefinery model. Now a North American competitor following Alco's IGPC acquisition.

Regional players

• Raízen: Brazilian sugar-cane ethanol joint venture between Cosan and Shell, one of the largest ethanol producers globally. Operates primarily in Brazil with sugar-cane feedstock rather than corn, but comparable end-product mix and renewable fuel positioning.

Others

• Messer Group GmbH: Industrial and specialty gases company partnered with Alco in the GreenCO2 JV. Adjacent player in CO2 capture, supply, and distribution infrastructure; relevant ecosystem participant rather than a direct ethanol competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Alcogroup1

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Alco group