• They aim for the large-scale production of renewable fuels using sustainable, biomass-based feedstocks to meet the growing demand of the transportation sector.
• By 2025, the companies will finalise the formal agreement to scale up production.

Bayer, a German multinational and pharmaceutical company, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Neste, Finland's leading producer of sustainable fuels, to grow winter canola as a feedstock for renewable fuels.

The companies plan to grow winter canola in the Southern Great Plains of the US to meet the increasing demand for sustainable fuels in the transportation sector. Bayer is already working on its hybrid version of the canola, TruFlex, which is expected to be rolled out in 2027.

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Frank Terhorst, Head of Strategy & Sustainability for Bayer’s Crop Science Division, said: "Renewable fuels are playing an important role in the decarbonization of transportation and energy while global targets continue to shape biofuel markets and accelerate demand for biomass-based feedstocks going forward.

"We are committed to supporting farmers’ ability to deliver low-carbon feedstocks on demand, through investments in new crops like winter canola and advancements in sustainable cropping systems.”

Bayer's genetically modified canola offers myriad benefits: it resists pests, sequesters carbon in the soil, enriches soil health by increasing organic matter and water retention and makes the soil more fertile and productive.

The primary goal of this partnership is to decarbonise the hard-to-abate transportation sector by producing renewable fuels, which have a lower carbon impact than fossil fuels, using advanced technologies.

Artturi Mikkola, Senior Vice President Feedstock Sourcing & Trading at Neste, added: "This collaboration with Bayer strengthens our strategy to develop together with value chain partners regenerative agriculture concepts that can be scaled up and can play an important role in diversifying and growing the raw materials pool for all of our renewable products.

"We believe winter canola can bring environmental benefits to cropping systems and result in lower carbon intensity feedstocks that help replace fossil resources with renewable raw materials.”

By scaling up winter canola production as a feedstock, the companies are helping farmers with a new source of income as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

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Source: Bayer