Bayer expands its existing investment and secures the majority share in CoverCress Inc. (CCI), a lower carbon oilseed producer.
Bayer, Bunge and Chevron U.S.A. Inc. have signed an agreement related to Bayer’s increase in ownership of CCI that now stands at 65%. Bunge and Chevron will continue their ownership of the remaining 35%, according to a release.
CoverCress, a rotational cash crop, combines grain production and the environmental perks of cover crops without disturbing other harvests. The oil taken from CoverCress grain was developed to reach a reduced carbon density score and has the potential to be turned into renewable diesel through Bunge’s knowledge on oilseed processing and Chevron’s expertise in fuels manufacturing.
This supply chain plans to offer corn and soybean growers an additional outlet revenue by supplying a fuel product and animal feed with a high-protein content.
“CoverCress is exciting because it has the potential to become an important source for biofuel production as a new harvested rotational crop, while giving growers an innovative option to continue effective stewardship of their land and improve soil quality by acting as a cover crop,” said Rodrigo Santos, member of the board of management of Bayer AG and president of the Crop Science Division. “As a global leader in crop science, we are committed to decarbonizing agriculture and helping farmers around the world become more sustainable through game-changing products and solutions that can impact climate change. This investment and collaboration between industry leaders is another proof point for our efforts.”
CCI will resume operations as an independent entity following the development of CoverCress.
“Since our founding in 2013 we have actively sought — and benefited from — scientific, operational and financial support from our academic and strategic partners. The progress we have made in converting pennycress into our novel, lower carbon intensity oilseed technology, CoverCress, would have been much slower without this critical support,” said Mike DeCamp, CEO and president of CCI. “Our long-standing strategic partnership with Bayer and our more recent strategic partnerships with Bunge and Chevron have provided us with access to expertise and capital that positions CCI very well for future success.”
With the support of experts in the fields of fuel, soybean crushing, logistics and crop science, CCI could reach greater potential through a supply chain that knows its crop’s production, growth, processing and needs for delivery, added the release.
“Connecting the full value chain — from seed development to end consumer — is an important step to bringing this crop to market at scale,” said Greg Heckman, Bunge’s CEO. “We look forward to helping meet the growing demand for renewable fuels with this next generation lower carbon feedstock.”
North American growers will soon have access to CoverCress.
“Chevron is seeking to create innovative renewable fuel feedstocks by collaborating with America’s farmers,” explained Mark Nelson, the executive vice president for Downstream & Chemicals at Chevron. “We are excited to work with Bayer and Bunge to accelerate the adoption of CoverCress, which we believe can ultimately be used to help supply the U.S. transportation system with lower lifecycle carbon intensity fuels.”
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