Cincinnati, Ohio
October 2, 2008
Great Plains – The Camelina Company entered into an
agreement with the Energy &
Environmental Research Center (EERC) at the University of
North Dakota to utilize its proprietary technology to produce
advanced fuels from the next generation
biofuel crop,
Camelina sativa.
Great Plains
has studied the science and agronomy of camelina for over 10
years and for the past three years has contracted with growers
throughout the United States and Canada to grow the crop.
Currently, the company is processing camelina seed to create
biodiesel, but the EERC technology will maximize the
biofuels potential for the crop.
The EERC has
developed a feedstock-flexible process that can utilize various
crop oils to produce combinations of jet fuel, diesel, gasoline,
and propane that are identical to petroleum-derived fuels,
enabling direct substitution with these fuels and providing
renewable options across the spectrum of fuel needs.
“The EERC has
strategically positioned itself to be the first to produce a
truly sustainable renewable fuel that can be used the same way
as traditional fuels with no special requirements,” said EERC
Director Dr. Gerald Groenewold.
Camelina is a
non-food oilseed that shows tremendous potential for the
EERC’s process and exhibits highly
desirable traits for fuel conversion. Camelina is a
cost-effective feedstock, and quantities of the crop are
presently available to begin fuel production. The EERC and Great
Plains will utilize camelina oil for upcoming testing and are
planning to develop an initial full-scale refinery focused on
renewable jet fuel production.
“This is an
exciting opportunity for us and we can’t wait to hit the ground
running,” says Sam Huttenbauer, CEO of Great Plains. “Not only
is camelina a non-food crop, but it will also provide for an
identical replacement of the traditional petrochemicals with the
technology that the EERC has pioneered. Camelina-derived fuels
will be 100 percent produced within North America and will be
both environmentally sustainable and high performing without
disrupting the current fuel supply infrastructure. Together, we
will supply America with the next generation of
biofuel.”
Great
Plains – The Camelina Company is the world’s leader in camelina
production and development. As a vertically integrated
renewable energy company founded with the purpose of
manufacturing and marketing biofuels
produced from Camelina sativa (camelina), a low-input feedstock,
the Company is establishing a growing base and production
facilities from which it will produce and supply camelina oil
with its partner, one of the leading
biofuel producers in the world,
INEOS Enterprises. Expansion
of the camelina growing and production program will vitally
contribute to the availability of alternative fuels in North
America.
The Energy & Environmental Research Center is
recognized as one of the world's leading developers of cleaner,
more efficient energy and environmental technologies to protect
and clean our air, water, and soil. The EERC is a high-tech,
nonprofit branch of the University of North Dakota. The EERC
operates like a business; conducts research, development,
demonstration, and commercialization activities; and is
dedicated to moving promising technologies out of the laboratory
and into the commercial marketplace. |
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