Great Plains is teaming up with the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) at the University of North Dakota to use the EERC's proprietary technology for developing next-generation biofuels from Camelina sativa.

Great Plains has been working with the camelina plant for over 10 years. Currently, it processes camelina seeds for biodiesel. The partnership with EERC offers Great Plains access to technology that will improve the biofuel potential of camelina to the point that the plant can be cultivated for jet fuel.

In particular, the EERC's feedstock-flexible process will significantly improve the versatility of Great Plains' product. The process uses a variety of crop oils to produce jet fuel, diesel, gasoline, and propane — all of which are essentially identical to petroleum-based fuels and can be directly substituted with no problems.

"This is an exciting opportunity for us and we can't wait to hit the ground running," said Sam Huttenbauer, the CEO of Great Plains, in a press release. "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 and the EERC will begin their partnership by testing camelina oil in the EERC's process. The two organizations plan to develop a full-scale refinery for renewable jet fuel.

In order to improve its access to a sufficient quantity of camelina, Great Plains has spent the past three years contracting with growers in both the U.S. and Canada to produce the crop. Camelina is not a food crop and is considered a next generation feedstock. It is exceptionally cost effective, and there is a current crop of the seed available to immediately begin fuel production.

Great Plains has based its renewable fuel business on the cultivation of camelina. The company is still in the early stages of creating biofuel, but already has a partnership in place with INEOS Enterprises, one of the leading biofuel producers in the world. The company's approach to biofuel development makes it an ideal partner for the EERC, which puts a high emphasis on moving promising research out of the lab and into the marketplace. The EERC's mission allows it to function like a business, rather than an academic research center.

Photo — Mexicanwave