Joint venture to produce biodiesel from purpose-bred camelina

Seattle-based bioscience company Targeted Growth has entered into a joint venture agreement with Houston biodiesel maker Green Earth Fuels to produce and market 100 million gallons (378.5 million liters) of biodiesel by 2010 from purpose-bred camelina. The oilseed crop belongs to the Brassicaceae family, in which the more commonly used biodiesel crop rapeseed can be found. The new company is called Sustainable Oils, Inc. and launches the single largest U.S. contract for the unique biodiesel-specific feedstock. Nearly all of the initial camelina production is expected to be grown in Montana.

Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz., traditionally yields about 1,100 to 1,200 kg of seeds per hectare, with an oil content that ranges from 35 to 37.5%. Whereas other Brassicas like rapseed have been improved significantly through plant breeding (e.g. canola) and improved agronomic practices, camelina has largely not had these benefits (more here).

This has now changed. With knowledge of a growth-controlling gene discovered at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Targeted Growth says it has bred a stronger, taller variety of camelina that yields 20 percent more oil than the standard variety and can be grown on marginal lands with little water or fertilizer. The crop can be harvested with traditional equipment.

Targeted Growth has spent the past three years applying its suite of yield and trait technologies to camelina to create the first Elite Camelina Seed. Specifically, it has used non-transgenic molecular assisted breeding programs to create a crop that is well suited to Montana’s climate and soil and that produces high quality biodiesel.

We have created a better feedstock for biodiesel. Camelina can be rotated with current Montana crops, it grows in land with lower agricultural value, and it doesn’t significantly increase the use of fertilizer or irrigation water. We think this will be a model for the development and use of other biofuel-specific crops. - Tom Todaro, CEO of Targeted Growth

Green Earth Fuels opened one of the country’s largest biodiesel production facilities this month, in Houston, and is successfully developing additional projects to provide biodiesel that meets quality and ratability standards to leading energy companies:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: biodiesel :: energy crops :: camelina :: molecular breeding :: biotechnology ::

This deal allows us access to a high quality feedstock at an extraordinarily competitive price. There’s an advantage to being vertically integrated – it closely aligns our interests with those of our feedstock suppliers. And because Camelina exists outside of the traditional commodity market, it should not be as volatile as other feedstocks. - Greg Bafalis, CEO Green Earth Fuels

Montana senator Max Baucus, who is also Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and who earlier this year sponsored legislation to provide federal crop insurance for Camelina, called the joint venture is good news for the state:

This is really, really big. With gas and energy prices on the rise, climate change breathing down our neck, and instability in the Middle East, America has to do something different. What’s most exciting about this new project is that Montana is going to be part of the energy solution. The fertile fields of Big Sky Country will be on the cutting edge of a bright energy future for America. And not only are we developing new cleaner energy sources, we are creating jobs and boosting Montana’s economy too. I take my hat off to everyone who came together on this project and I have great faith that it’s going to surpass all expectations.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Green Earth Fuels is a U.S. leader in the production and distribution of environmentally sound biodiesel with a vertically integrated business model representing end-to-end fuel production. Green Earth Fuels operates production and distribution sites that are independently located within existing petrochemical infrastructures in key U.S. coastal locations, improving industry integration and providing dedicated access to a nationwide production network alongside well-situated distribution channels. The company develops and invests in the production of new feedstock crops and adheres to best practices farming of current crops to promote feedstock sustainability, maximize processing benefits, and minimize environmental impacts.

Targeted Growth uses agricultural bioscience to enable the long term success of renewable fuels such as biodiesel and ethanol. This includes technology that improves the traits of crops themselves (yield increases, drought resistance, fertilizer requirements, etc.) and the ultimate performance of those crops once converted into biofuels (efficiency of refining, fuel performance characteristics). In addition, the company also develops, grows and markets biofuel specific crops (such as camelina) that are optimized and continually improved for use specifically as a feedstock for biofuels. The company has strategic partnerships with leading researchers and agribusinesses around the world. Targeted Growth is based in Seattle, Wash. with labs in Seattle, Saskatchewan, Ottawa and New Brunswick.

References:
Targeted Growth: Targeted Growth and Green Earth Fuels Announce Landmark Deal
to Produce Camelina-based Biodiesel [*.pdf] - November 20, 2007.

D.H. Putnam, J.T. Budin, L.A. Field, and W.M. Breene, "Camelina: A Promising Low-Input Oilseed", Handbook of Energy Crops.