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https://www.wsj.com/articles/biofuel-renewable-diesel-cover-crops-2077c807

 1. 


WHAT WAS ONCE A WEED COULD FUEL JET ENGINES


SCIENTISTS ARE DEVELOPING NONFOOD PLANTS TO TAKE THE PLACE OF CORN AND SOYBEANS
AS SOURCES FOR BIOFUELS


A crop called CoverCress, a source for biofuel that is aimed for cultivation on
farms in harvest offseasons, was developed from a plant considered a weed.
CoverCress
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By Yusuf Khan

Aug. 9, 2023 10:50 am ET
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Could growing weeds help the planet?

Field pennycress, a plant in the Brassica family related to mustards and
cabbages, is usually considered a weed. But one feature made it less of a
wallflower: its very high oil content, about 50% higher than that of a soybean.
After close to a decade of controlled breeding and gene-splicing, the onetime
weed is being cultivated as a source for renewable diesel or sustainable
aviation fuel.

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Most biofuels in the U.S. currently come from corn or soybeans. But as demand
for green fuels rises, global food shortages are also threatening. That’s
bringing a push for low-carbon fuels that can be made without using edible
grains—and spurring research on crops like field pennycress. 

“Today the dominant feedstock oil source for [biofuels] would be soybeans, which
creates this dynamic of, ‘Are we going to be using our soybean oil and our
soybean meal for the fuel market vs. the food and feed markets?” says Mike
DeCamp, the chief executive of CoverCress, the company that developed field
pennycress. The plant, now also dubbed CoverCress, is aimed for cultivation on
farms in harvest offseasons, as a so-called cover crop that can help prevent
erosion and provide revenue when primary crops are fallow.


CoverCress at harvest. After close to a decade of controlled breeding and
gene-splicing, the onetime weed is being cultivated as a source for renewable
diesel or sustainable aviation fuel. CoverCress (2)

CoverCress is one of three nonfood cover crops that have received funding from
the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where scientists have been hoping to find
oilseed plants that could potentially produce renewable fuels without competing
with food sources. The other two—Nuseed Carinata and a plant called camelina
marketed by Global Clean Energy Holdings—are also oilseed crops that are grown
during the winter fallow period.

Major oil companies have been getting on board. In 2022, BP agreed to buy Nuseed
Carinata oil to process or sell as a supply of sustainable biofuels. Chemical
and pharmaceutical giant Bayer expanded its stake in CoverCress to a 65%
ownership share, with the remainder held by Chevron and agricultural trading
house Bunge. Exxon Mobil has a multiyear agreement with Global Clean Energy
Holdings to purchase renewable diesel made from camelina. 

Camelina, an oilseed crop marketed by Global Clean Energy Holdings, being grown
in a lab environment. Photo: Global Clean Energy Holdings, Inc

Growing these oilseed plants between main crop rotations on land already used
for farming helps limit damage like deforestation, says Alex Clayton, global
strategy and commercial lead for Nuseed Carinata.

Carinata, also known as Ethiopian Mustard, isn’t a weed like pennycress but also
isn’t edible by humans. The crop, grown between November and May in the
offseason for cotton and peanuts, is being tested by farmers in Alabama, Georgia
and Florida, as well as in Argentina. The oilseed is crushed in Europe for use
as a biofuel. 

The companies behind these crops tout benefits to farmers, but convincing
farmers to grow them can be a major hurdle. 

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“Farmers are very cautious, conservative and skeptical because they have heard a
lot of promises that haven’t panned out,” says John Sedbrook, a professor of
genetics at Illinois State University who is researching cover crops. “It has a
lot of potential but there is a lot of work to be done.” 

In most cases, farmers are contracted to grow the crops, with the companies
determining when and how to use fertilizers as well as ensuring the plants are
crushed and sent to the refiners. That loss of control, as well as overlaps of
up to a month with cash crops that can delay planting can make these cover crops
a tough sell.


Nuseed Carinata is grown in the offseason for crops such as cotton and peanuts.
Photo: Nuseed

How the crops have been developed also can be an issue. In the U.S. growing GMO
crops is legal, though regulated by groups like the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. However GMO crops
are largely banned in the EU, which is a limitation for CoverCress. By contrast,
Nuseed Carinata and camelina were developed mainly through selective breeding,
rather than genetic modification.

Aviation is among the industries that are pushing demand for biofuels like those
produced with cover crops. Sustainable aircraft fuel, or SAF, is still very much
in its infancy. Output in 2021 was 100 million liters but in order for the
industry to achieve net zero carbon output by 2050, around 449 billion liters
will be needed, according to the Montreal-based International Air Transport
Association. In 2022, 450,000 flights used SAF as a fuel source, the IATA
estimates—just 1.5% of the flights that took place. 


Used cooking oils, animal byproducts—and soon your trash—are being used to cut a
major source of global emissions: air travel. WSJ explores whether the recent
surge in investment in sustainable aviation fuel will help the industry finally
take off. Photo Illustration: Ryan Trefes

“We don’t have the solutions at scale today to actually solve the problem of
decarbonizing how we fly,” says Lauren Riley, chief sustainability officer at
United Airlines Holdings. 

“If you think about some other markets, like ground transportation, they’re
electrifying. They have batteries that are becoming more efficient and
energy-dense with each generation. We don’t have sort of the equivalent of that
for aviation.” 


The oilseed crop camelina—grown as a cover crop during the fallow season—is
harvested in Montana. Photo: Global Clean Energy Holdings, Inc

The new nonfood sources of biofuels are promising, she says. “Cover crops have
the potential to take us to almost a carbon-neutral fuel which is exceptionally
exciting.”

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

Do you think biofuels made from nonfood sources can play a significant role in
future power needs? Join the conversation below.

However, cover crops can only supply so much, says Hemant Mistry, director of
energy transition at the International Air Transport Association. “A diversity
[of sources] will be needed to ramp up SAF production going forward.” 

“CoverCress, camelina and Carinata combined are not going to be the solution
[alone],” says CoverCress CEO DeCamp. “It’s still not going to be enough oil to
meet the demand based on the amount of capacity that’s coming online.”

“None of these crops are the magic bullet,” he says, “but they are part of a
fabric that can really help in long-term lowering greenhouse gas emissions in
the world.” 

Write to Yusuf Khan at yusuf.khan@wsj.com


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Appeared in the August 10, 2023, print edition as 'Biofuels Made From Weeds Show
Promise as Industry Demand Grows'.

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