Bayer said Thursday it has acquired camelina germplasm, intellectual property, and materials from Smart Earth Camelina Corp. with the goal of boosting the seed and chemical giant's leadership in biofuel feedstocks.
Bayer already had an investment in CoverCress, a type of field pennycress that can be grown in winter months to be used as a feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel, renewable diesel and biodiesel. The company expects to sign an agreement with a major renewable fuel producer on a third biofuel crop, winter canola, later this year.
"Camelina is a novel intermediate oilseed crop with a promising low-carbon intensity for renewable fuel and can be grown in both spring and winter. Bayer intends to use its expertise in oilseeds to further develop this product,” the company’s press release said.
The acquisition “underlines Bayer’s goal to help decarbonize the transportation sector and to deliver regenerative agriculture solutions through the investment and development of intermediate oilseed crops to meet the demand of the growing renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) markets which is estimated to increase from 14 billion to 40 billion gallons by 2040,” according to Bayer.
“We are committed to supporting farmers’ ability to deliver on growing demand for low-carbon biomass-based feedstocks, through investments and development of new intermediate oilseed crops like camelina and advancing sustainable cropping systems,” said Frank Terhorst, head of strategy and sustainability in Bayer’s Crop Science Division. “Bayer is going to continue to lead the way with alternative biomass-based feedstocks and regenerative agricultural solutions.”
“Smart Earth Camelina Corp. has been at the forefront of camelina development for over 20 years, and camelina is now poised to join the ranks of the other major oilseed crops,” said Jack Grushcow, president and CEO at Smart Earth Carmelina Corp. “We believe Bayer is the ideal party to scale camelina production to a level that drives meaningful advancements in sustainable agriculture and significantly reduces global CO2 emissions.”
Renewable organic materials such as corn, soy, canola, as well as “novel alternative oilseed crops like camelina and CoverCress” have lower carbon intensity scores than fossil fuels, Bayer said. In addition, they can give farmers “new new revenue streams through the cultivation of biomass-based feedstocks.”
Bayer said that as part of its biofuel strategy, camelina will complement its existing work with CoverCress, “and the recent announcement on scaling winter canola in the U.S. as a biomass-based feedstock to meet growing demand for renewable fuel. Bayer aims to launch hybrid TruFlex winter canola in the US in 2027.
Bayer said Wednesday it would work with Neste, which says it is the leading producer of sustainable aviation fuel in the world, and farmers “to introduce winter canola as a biomass-based feedstock that delivers fuel with lower carbon intensity than traditional fuel sources. Bayer and Neste expect to finalize a definitive agreement in 2025.”
For more news, go to www.Agri-Pulse.com
