INTERVIEW-German biodiesel firm to use chip fat in UK, US

HAMBURG, March 18 (Reuters) - German biodiesel producer Petrotec AG (PT8G.DE) said on Tuesday it plans to build two plants in the U.K and United States to produce biodiesel from waste chip fat and cooking oil collected from restaurants.

One production plant is planned in each country producing about 100,000 tonnes of biodiesel annually from about 100,000 tonnes of waste cooking oils, said Petrotec CEO Roger Boeing.

The company already produces about 85,000 tonnes of biodiesel annually at Borken in north Germany using waste cooking oil collected from restaurants, snack bars and cafes.

German technology currently used would also be used to start production in the U.K. and U.S., said Boeing.

"Both countries have a culture involving fried food such as fish and chips which produces large volumes of waste fat which we can use our technical know-how to process," he said.

Sites are currently being sought in both countries. In the UK, possible sites under consideration include Teeside in north England and the Thames region in the south.

In the U.S. the New York region and the west coast, possibly San Francisco Bay, are being examined, he said.

He could not give a time scale for the projects, which could each involve investment of around 22 million euros.

Both would produce for their respective home markets, primarily for blending with fossil diesel at oil refineries.