Australian agricultural chemical firm Nufarm has expanded its research and development (R&D) partnerships in the USA and Brazil.
The move followed Nufarm’s acquisition of biomass oil trait technology developed by Australia’s national science agency CSIRO, the company said on 8 November.
Comprising a range of patents and expertise relating to technology traits, Nufarm said the aim of the acquisition was to bring new sustainable oil feedstock volumes to downstream industries.
“These Biomass Oil IP assets provide a potentially transformational complement to Nufarm's bioenergy and beyond yield platform strategy aligned with our objective to develop an industry-leading bioenergy and consumer goods position from advanced feedstock crops,” Nufarm CEO Greg Hunt said.
To advance the technology, the company said it had established R&D partnerships with the University of Florida, USA, and the Brazilian public research centre the Instituto Agronomico (IAC), in Brazil, and expanded its R&D partnership with CSIRO.
The company’s energy sugarcane and forage sorghum genetics offer biomass crops suited for the development and introgression of the Biomass Oil trait, according to Nufarm.
When harvesting crops, the lipids in the aerial part of plants could be removed via crushing and/or an enzyme extraction process and refined into biofuels such as biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) or used as a feedstock for other uses including a range of consumer goods, the company said.
In addition, bioethanol could be created from the remaining sucrose content after separation from the lipids.
Nufarm said it was also working with other partners to identify new opportunities for technical project development and future downstream commercialisation.
Headquartered in Melbourne, Nufarm manufactures and sells crop protection solutions including herbicides, insecticides and fungicides.
The company’s focus is on five core crops: cereals; corn; soyabean; pasture; turf and ornamentals; and trees, nuts, vines and vegetables.
Through its seed technologies platform Nuseed, Nufarm has developed and commercialised plant-based omega-3 and advanced bioenergy feedstock technology.
