Businessweek

Ceres, Inc., an agricultural biotechnology company, selling seeds to produce energy crops – renewable bioenergy feedstocks that could enable the large-scale replacement of petroleum and other fossil fuels. The company uses a combination of plant breeding and biotechnology to develop seed products that address the limitations of first-generation bioenergy feedstocks, such as corn and sugarcane. Products and Product Pipeline The company’s commercial products are proprietary sweet sorghum hybrids that could be used as a ‘drop-in’ feedstock to extend the operating season of Brazilian sugarcane-to-ethanol mills. Its energy crops could also be used for the production of second-generation biofuels and bio-based chemicals, including cellulosic ethanol, butanol, jet fuel, diesel-like molecules, and gasoline-like molecules, from non-food biomass. Additionally, baseload utility-scale electric power could also be generated from the biomass feedstocks grown from its seeds. It develops low input dedicated energy crops capable of producing high yields per acre using plant breeding and trait biotechnology. The company markets and sells its sweet sorghum seeds in Brazil and its switchgrass, high biomass sorghum, and sweet sorghum seeds in the United States under its brand, Blade Energy Crops or Blade. It also works with refining technology companies in the cellulosic biofuels and bio-based chemicals markets. The company worked with companies focusing on petroleum-refining technologies, such as UOP LLC (a Honeywell Company), as well as chemical companies, such as Europe-based Gruppo Mossi & Ghisolfi, to test its energy crops in their respective production processes. It has also conducted joint trials with, or sold seed to AGCO Corporation; EdeniQ, Inc.; Hawai’i BioEnergy, LLC; and Sweetwater Energy Inc. Furthermore, it works with refining technology companies to optimize feedstock for their refining processes. These collaborators include Novozymes North America, Inc. and ThermoChem Recovery International, Inc. Sweet Sorghum: Sweet sorghum is a type of sorghum that accumulates free sugars in its stalk much like sugarcane. The company is developing various improved sweet sorghum hybrids with high sugar content for immediate use in both existing markets in Brazil, as well as new markets in the United States and elsewhere. High Biomass Sorghum: High biomass sorghum is a type of sorghum, which is primarily developed for improved biomass yield potential as opposed to sugar content. As such, high biomass sorghum is suited for the generation of renewable electric power and the creation of cellulosic biofuels. The company offers ES 5200 and ES 5201 products that contain its Skyscraper trait. These hybrids are developed through its partnership with The Texas A&M University System. Switchgrass: Switchgrass is a perennial grass indigenous to North America that tolerates a range of environmental conditions and offers high biomass yield potential compared to various other perennial grasses and crop plants. The company offers three proprietary products, including EG 1101, EG 1102, and EG 2101. These high-yielding varieties are developed through its partnership with The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Inc. Miscanthus: Miscanthus x giganteus is a tall perennial grass that grows in cooler climates. It has been used as an energy crop on a small scale across Europe. The company is collaborating with the Institute of Biological, Environmental, and Rural Sciences of Aberystwyth University in Wales, the U.K. (IBERS). It is also developing miscanthus with biotech traits that have been validated in switchgrass, rice, and a model test plant called Arabidopsis. The company has established field trials of various traits in miscanthus in various states under its Advanced Research Project Agency for Energy grant project (ARPA-E), and also a joint U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Agriculture Biomass R&D Initiative grant. Row Crops: The company might make gains in the productivity in various row crops, such as corn, soybean, rice, and wheat. It also has various genes that impact flowering time and yield. Customers For the ye