Nufarm expands its bioenergy platform; acquires assets and signs long term alliance with GranBio to accelerate global expansion of energy cane

09 Sep 2022

Nufarm group has acquired energy cane assets and entered into a long-term technology access and license agreement with GranBio Investimentos SA (GranBio) group, a leading Brazilian industrial biotechnology group, to accelerate the development and global expansion of energy cane.

The Nufarm group has acquired GranBio group’s energy cane production assets, including germplasm, breeding materials and related know how, products in various stages of development, and customer contracts, for US$25 million. Energy cane is a novel cane crop specifically developed to create a greater than 150% increase in biomass compared to conventional sugar cane and is a step change in biofuel and bioelectricity generation. Increased global demand for biofuels is being driven by the need to achieve global greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets.

Nuseed, a division of Nufarm, plans to develop energy cane as a renewable, advanced agricultural feedstock for supply to downstream energy partners. The acquisition and related exclusive long-term technology access and license agreement gives GranBio rights in the second-generation (2G) field.

Nufarm CEO, Greg Hunt said, “This agreement is a tangible example of Nufarm’s growth strategy in action – investing in sustainable innovative technologies that help growers get more from their land. “This acquisition bolsters Nuseed’s Value Beyond Yield™ strategy. The acquisition is expected to deliver modest underlying EBITDA1 in the short-term however it has significant potential to contribute to Nufarm’s earnings growth over the medium to long-term as global expansion ramps up to meet demand for sustainable biofuels.”

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