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Germany's Bayer and Finland's Neste have entered a strategic collaboration aimed at significantly expanding the acreage of winter canola in the US Southern Great Plains, a move designed to strengthen the supply of lower-carbon-intensity oilseed feedstocks for the fast-growing biofuels sector.
Global demand for renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is projected to almost triple, reaching approximately 40 billion gallons by 2040. Against this backdrop, the partnership is positioned to broaden a more diversified, lower-carbon feedstock base while unlocking new sources of value for growers in the region.
In addition to oil destined for biofuel processing, the high-protein meal co-product from the winter canola grain will be marketed to the feed industry, providing an additional protein source for dairy and beef cattle, poultry, and swine operations.
Frank Terhorst, Head of Strategy and Sustainability for Bayer's Crop Science division, framed the deal against the current geopolitical context: 'In times of geopolitical tensions, the need for more energy security and resilience while decarbonising the transportation sector leads to growing demand for renewable fuel. This agreement further underscores Bayer's commitment to help scale biofuels production.'
Terhorst described the Southern Great Plains as an 'untapped opportunity' for winter canola, noting that the launch of the newgold® winter canola brand will offer farmers a profitable rotational crop with wheat, improve land utilisation, and provide a route into the biofuels market.
Under the agreement, Bayer and Neste are building a newgold® network of additional value-chain partners to support the expansion of winter canola acreage and guarantee farmers an additional offtake market for their grain.
Artturi Mikkola, Senior Vice President of Renewable Products Feedstock Sourcing and Trading at Neste, commented: 'Maximizing the contribution of novel types of raw materials to support growth in renewables requires open supply chain collaboration. By building robust value chains, we can turn agricultural innovations into scalable realities for growers and energy markets. Through the Bayer newgold® winter canola collaboration, we are establishing a value chain in one of Neste's key markets and developing opportunities to increase farm yields and grower income. This renewable raw material can be scaled rapidly in the coming years, which can help meet increasing biofuels demand.'
Bayer is targeting the commercial launch of newgold winter canola hybrids in the fall of 2027. The hybrids will combine several agronomic traits, including winter-hardiness, TruFlex® (Bayer's second-generation Roundup Ready® trait technology), and pod shatter resistance. Together, these features are expected to deliver stronger yield performance and higher oil content, marketed under the TruFlex winter canola newgold® seed brand, with the aim of giving Southern Great Plains growers a flexible new profit opportunity.
The companies stressed that biofuels will play a critical role in decarbonising transport segments where full electrification remains challenging, including aviation, rail, heavy-duty equipment, and marine shipping. Biofuels can be produced from renewable organic feedstocks such as corn, soy, canola, and intermediate oilseed crops such as winter canola.
Bayer recently outlined its broader biofuels platform at its investor day in Huxley, Iowa, highlighting what it described as a leading emerging portfolio of intermediate biofuel crops, including camelina, winter canola, and CoverCress.
Source: ALCHEMPro