Jan 18 2010
SG Biofuels has established a strategic alliance with Life Technologies to move forward the development of Jatropha as a sustainable biofuel. SG Biofuels is a plant science company and Life Technologies is a company involved in providing innovative life science solutions.
SG Biofuels’ Genetic Resource Center and Life Technologies’ synthetic biology tools are brought together by this strategic alliance. Through this partnership, the Jatropha curcas genome will be sequenced and new traits that increase the yield of the oil-producing plant will be introduced. Both the companies will become strategic partners also.
Jatropha curcas is a non-edible shrub that originated in Central America. The seeds of the jatropha curcas consist of large quantities of oil that are used for different bio-based materials that include feedstock and biodiesel substitutes for the jet fuel and petrochemical industries. Jatropha curcas can grow on marginal lands that are considered to be unsuitable for the growth of other crop varieties.
Krik Haney, Chief Executive Officer and President of SG Biofuels, remarked that the company is provided with an opportunity to open the true potential of Jatropha as being the most sustainable and profitable biofuel feedstock by combining SG Biofuels’ library of Jatropha DNA with the extensive resources and genetic expertise of Life Technologies.
The team of genetic scientists from SG Biofuels lead by Dr. Robert Schmidt consists of three members of the National Academy of Sciences. SG Biofuels has been recognized by Always On as one of the Top 100 Emerging Cleantech Companies and it is also named as one of the Top 50 Companies in Bioenergy by Biofuels Digest.
Source: http://www.sgbiofuels.com/