Jan. 29 (Bloomberg) — SG Biofuels Inc., backed by Airbus
SAS, will cooperate with Fiagril Participacoes SA and Brazilian
Agricultural Research Corp. to seek to reduce costs and boost
yields in producing biofuel from the inedible jatropha plant.
Embrapa, as Brazilian Agricultural Research is known, will
offer expertise on boosting crop productivity and cutting output
costs, San Diego-based SG said today in an e-mailed statement.
SG is studying how to extract the greatest amount of oil from
the Central American jatropha, which can be grown on poor land.
SG and Fiagril will set-up a research facility near the
Brazilian company’s biodiesel plant in western Mato Grosso and a
trial as part of plans to adapt jatropha to local conditions.
“Working in partnership with Fiagril, we look forward to
deploying our elite jatropha hybrids,” SG’s Chief Executive
Officer Kirk Haney said in the statement. The plant’s seeds are
crushed to make oil for biodiesel, jet fuel and chemicals.
SG is already working with Bharat Petroleum Corp. to grow
86,000 acres of jatropha in India, and planting 75,000 acres in
Brazil with Airbus, the Inter-American Development Bank and TAM
SA, Brazil’s largest airline. The company said last month that
it was in talks with large energy companies including state oil
producers in Africa and Southeast Asia to expand in new markets.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Louise Downing in London at
ldowning4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Reed Landberg at
landberg@bloomberg.net
