EarthDaily Agro, Global Clean Energy partner to grow adoption of camelina-based biofuel

Camelina (Photo: EarthDaily Analytics)

EarthDaily Agro, a division of geospatial analytics company EarthDaily Analytics, has been selected by Global Clean Energy Holdings Inc. and its subsidiary Sustainable Oils Inc. to support their work to increase the adoption of camelina in the renewable fuels marketplace through their Climate-Smart Camelina Project.

The multiyear contract is made possible by a $30 million USDA Climate-Smart Commodities Grant, which was awarded to Global Clean Energy for the purposes of developing camelina as an ultra-low carbon renewable fuel feedstock and building associated climate-smart renewable fuels markets.

The initial project will focus on the Western U.S., with plans to expand to other regions of the world deemed suitable to camelina production.

Because camelina has not historically been a widely cultivated crop, EarthDaily Agro will produce the first full-cycle economic-viability and production-yield dataset to serve as the basis for mainstream cultivation and renewable fuel production.

“Global Clean Energy and Sustainable Oils are recognized leaders in the expanding renewable fuels industry, and EarthDaily Agro is proud to partner with their innovative mission to bring new solutions to the industry,” said Dave Gebhardt, general manager of EarthDaily Agro. “By collaborating with EarthDaily Agro, Global Clean Energy and Sustainable Oils join a growing roster of agribusiness leaders harnessing the power of Earth observation and geospatial analytics to cultivate leading-edge business intelligence.”

Kevin Monk, Sustainable Oils’ vice president of ag technology, added, “As the renewable fuels industry continues to expand, optimizing the efficiency of our production is critical for meeting growing camelina demand. Geospatial analytics and data processing from EarthDaily Agro equip our company to make informed cultivation and commercialization decisions to continue advancing camelina as a high-potential, low-carbon renewable fuel feedstock.”

EarthDaily Agro’s satellite-derived, scientific-grade geospatial data provides Global Clean Energy and Sustainable Oils with leading-edge change detection, yield-trend modeling, carbon indexing and crop-cycle detection.

Through the technology, EarthDaily Agro supplies informed guidance to help current camelina growers maximize yields, as well as economic- and agronomic-feasibility information to increase camelina adoption among additional growers.

In 2024, the new EarthDaily Constellation will be launched, providing enhanced data for vegetation, water, atmosphere and soil to its ag customers such as Global Clean Energy.

“With the ability to grow on otherwise idle acres, camelina can produce renewable fuel feedstock without causing land-use change—and worldwide, more than 100 million camelina opportunity acres exist,” Monk said. “This climate-smart fuel alternative has the potential to energize the growing renewable fuels sector, simplify global supply lines for critical commodities like renewable diesel, reinforce domestic-energy supply chains, and provide additional revenue for farmers.”

Gebhardt said, “Agriculture’s capacity to help business leaders address some of our planet’s most pressing environmental challenges is an exciting frontier. From carbon sequestering to climate action and now even next-generation renewable fuels, the potential of agricultural analytics from EarthDaily Agro is a powerful tool harnessed by the world’s leading agribusinesses. We are immensely proud to partner with innovators like Global Clean Energy and Sustainable Oils to do what’s right for our planet.”