Nufarm, BP enter new joint-development agreement for biomass-oil technology

Nufarm announced Dec. 10 an R&D collaboration with BP that aims to accelerate biomass oil-technology development for bioenergy applications, building on the two companies’ 10-year strategic offtake agreement in low-carbon biofuel feedstocks.

This arrangement follows Nufarm’s previous announcement that it has partnered with a consortium of world-class research partners to further advance the technology that will enable this joint-development agreement.

The collaboration aims to develop biomass-oil technology for oil production in vegetative parts of crop plants, including leaves and stems.

This has the potential to increase the availability of sustainable feedstocks for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production.

It draws on complementary skillsets of Nufarm’s expertise in crop improvement and BP’s processing and fuel technology.

According to ReFuelEU aviation legislation, SAF production currently accounts for about 0.5 percent of global jet fuel in the EU.

An EU mandate requires that at least 2 percent of fuel at EU airports should be SAF by 2025, with requirements to build over time to reach at least 20 percent SAF by 2035 and 70 percent by 2050.

“This technology and associated know-how further enhance Nufarm’s novel, sustainable and scalable oils strategy, in high-biomass crops like energy cane and forage sorghum,” said Nufarm CEO Greg Hunt. “It provides the potential for a new transformational oils platform. Together with key bioenergy partners like BP, we continue to support commercial markets that are not traditionally served by agriculture.”

Nigel Dunn, the senior vice president of biofuels at BP, added, “Biofuels can play a critical role in decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors like aviation. We are delighted to expand on our collaboration with Nufarm and the complementary strengths that they bring. We look forward to working with them to unlock the potential of this technology and deepening the existing relationship we enjoy in scaling up the development of cover crops like carinata.”

Increased global demand for biofuels is being driven by the need to access sustainable sources of energy to help achieve global greenhouse-gas (GHG) reduction targets and policy mandates.

Nufarm said this agreement is another example of how it is partnering with key downstream partners to solve global challenges.