Certified Nuseed carinata shipment leaves Argentina en route to France

Nuseed carinata is loaded on a vessel in Argentina (Photo: Nuseed)

In less than a year since the signing of Nuseed and BP’s strategic offtake and market-development agreement, the first shipment of Nuseed carinata left the port of San Pedro, Argentina, in early January.

The nonfood oilseed cover crop was contract grown in Argentina and Uruguay between main crop rotations, and harvested to be used for traceable, independently certified sustainable lower-carbon feedstock.

The Nuseed carinata shipment is now en route to France for proprietary processing by Saipol, and the resulting certified Nuseed carinata oil will be delivered to BP.

“The Nuseed carinata teams in Argentina and globally have done a tremendous job of working with contract growers to increase certified-sustainable production and collect the data for accountability from field to oil,” said Brent Zacharias, Nuseed global group executive. “We’ve connected local contract growers and global industry partners to add value through traceable, independently certified-sustainable production and greenhouse-gas savings.”

Christophe Beaunoir, Saipol CEO, added, “It’s exciting to be part of the Nuseed carinata value chain. Saipol provides the proprietary processing of the nonfood oilseed into certified-sustainable lower-carbon feedstock, as well as the coproduct of non-GMO meal for a traceable plant-based source of protein.”

In addition to reducing carbon-lifecycle emissions when Nuseed carinata oil is processed for the production of low-carbon oil, the nonfood cover crop also removes carbon from the air.

The carbon is then stored in the soil as the cover crop grows between main crop rotations, regenerating soil typically exposed to erosion and carbon loss.

The Nuseed carinata program verifies land-use status prior to planting and incentivizes the adoption of sustainable-farming practices.

Nuseed carinata production utilizes existing equipment, farmland, and processing infrastructure.

Nuseed carinata is being scaled globally with commercial-seed production already expanding in South America and the Southern United States, with development programs underway in Australia and Europe.

“The first shipment of Nuseed carinata marks an exciting milestone in our strategic agreement with Nuseed,” said Sven Boss-Walker, senior vice president of refining and products trading at BP. “We look forward to using the global reach of our trading and shipping team to sell Nuseed carinata oil into growing markets and accelerate market adoption. Decarbonizing transportation, such as aviation, is a significant challenge and we are excited by the potential that lower-carbon feedstocks can play in helping transform the sector.”