THE £250m Ensus bioethanol plant on Teesside has temporarily shut down for the fourth time.

CropEnergies, its German owners, has blamed current difficulties in the European bioethanol market, exacerbated by the recent dramatic drop in oil prices.

In a statement the company said: "The devaluation of the euro compared to the British pound was an additional burden. The drawn out political process in the EU to also increase the percentage of renewable energies in the transport sector compared to today is not conducive either."

During the shut down the plant is being cleaned and inspected but the company said its other plants in Germany, Belgium and France are running at high capacity despite the difficult market conditions, proving their leading technology and competitiveness.

The statement said: "As soon as market conditions allow, the English production plant can be brought on line again and the group's full annual production potential of 1.2m cubic meters can be exploited. The possibility of recommissioning will be continuously reviewed against the backdrop of upcoming policy decisions."

Ensus employs 100 and uses wheat to make bioethanol which is blended with transport fuel. It also produces dried animal feed and carbon dioxide for the drinks industry.

It opened in 2010 but had to close while millions was spent on overcoming strong odour problems. It had a 15 month shut down in May 2011 and in April 2013 adverse market conditions saw it close for six months.

CropEnergies bought the plant in July 2013 for 13m euro and injected a further £70m into it.

In January this year, CropEnergies said that over the previous nine months Ensus had helped lift its total bioethanol production by 24 per cent to 777,000 cubic metres, including more than 300,000 cubic metres in one quarter for the first time.

It also reported increased revenues of £479m for the nine months but reported an operating loss of £4.5m due to falling prices and lower earnings from food and animal feed markets.