Ceres Introduces the First Seed Brand for Bioenergy Crops

April 29, 2008 – Vol.13 No.6

Ceres Introduces the First Seed Brand for Bioenergy Crops.

The energy crop company plans to market its agricultural seeds and traits under the trade name Blade Energy Crops in the United States. Seed supplies of the first products to be sold are currently being multiplied for Spring 2009 sowing. These include the nation's first switchgrass cultivars developed specifically for biofuels as well as high-biomass types of sorghum.

The company says the Blade name was inspired by its first crops, switchgrass, sorghum and canes, which are from a category of closely related grass species, known as C4 grasses. C4 grasses are the natural world's most efficient engines of photosynthesis, the process by which plants store solar energy in the form of carbohydrates.

"Blade will be the first multi-crop seed brand supplying the new market for nonfood, low-carbon biofuel feedstocks," company president and CEO Richard Hamilton said. These biomass-dense crops will be grown as raw materials for next-generation biofuels and biopower. One of the great appeals of energy crops is that they can thrive on agricultural lands that are ill-suited to food production.

"Supported by the latest technology in genomics-based breeding, trait development and compositional analysis, we are positioning Blade as a premium seed brand for biofuel and biopower feedstocks. For growers, that means high yields and greater yield stability. Downstream, it means easier processing, and ultimately, more energy per ton of biomass," said Hamilton. "From both an economic and environmental perspective, if we are going to turn plant matter into fuel, we should use feedstocks that give us the maximum fuel yield per acre."

Due to their high yields, energy crops can produce more fuel per-acre than first-generation biofuel crops, and further mitigate greenhouse gas emissions since these new crops require fewer inputs and actually build new topsoil. Ethanol made from switchgrass, for instance, produces 90 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than petroleum, and nearly five times more net energy than starch-based ethanol. Further improvements are likely as breeders introduce new seed varieties and innovations in refining technology are commercialized,according to Ceres.

The Blade brand will appear on the company's seed packaging and farm-oriented marketing materials.

Ceres is a developer of high-yielding energy crops that can be planted as feedstocks for cellulosic ethanol production and biopower. (4/29/08)

Links:

Ceres
http://www.ceres.net

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