Nuseed was exhibiting at the Australian Cotton Conference this week to promote carinata as a crop that can be grown in rotation with cotton. Pictured at the Nuseed exhibit are Chris Roberts, area sales manager northern NSW and southern Qld Rob Austen, general manager Rachel Palumbo, strategic marking and CX manager Rene Borggreve and regional sales manager east Sally Broadhead. Photo: Nuseed Australia

COMMERCIAL-SCALE trials of Nuseed’s non-food oilseed carinata varieties are under way in Australia, with plots located in cotton-growing regions of New South Wales and southern Queensland.

Representatives from Nuseed and oil and gas company, bp, gave an update to growers on the progress of the carinata trials and work to develop a supply chain for the inedible crop during a webinar last month.

Nuseed Australia national market development manager Chris Roberts said the work was mainly focused on summer-cropping regions of south-east Queensland and northern NSW, but some trial work was progressing in South Australia and Western Australia.

“We’ve started the journey this year with a couple of growers actually growing carinata on a commercial scale,” Mr Roberts said.

A carinata trial at Boggabri photographed last month. Photo: Nuseed

“This will give us the opportunity to evaluate its value proposition into the marketplace, and also give us the opportunity to have some conversations about developing and demonstrating the supply chain.”

Mr Roberts said while carinata has potential “wherever wheat or barley is being grown”, Nuseed was initially investigating it as a break crop following irrigated cotton.

Nuseed Australia area sales manager Robert Austen said trials this year at Goondiwindi and Boggabri were looking at carinata’s yield potential, as well as possible disease benefits.

“It has gone into cotton country [at Boggabri] that has some pretty high verticillium levels, so we are very interested to see the effects that it has with the bio-fumigation,” Mr Austen said.

“We think it will fit particularly in that irrigated cotton system where we normally have sort of that 18-month fallow sitting there.

“It’s a good opportunity to get in and plant some carinata behind cotton and take it right through to yield, and that still leaves time in fallow to get all your ground prep done for the next season.”

Mr Roberts outlined the company’s trial and research plan for the next six months which included continuing commercial grower trials and partnering with the Qld Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development to verify the crop’s impact on plant diseases.

He said following harvest, Nuseed will also commence crush trials to test the qualities of the oil and work with partner bp on early market development.

Artists impression of bp’s proposed Kwinana Energy Hub. Photo: bp

Onshore processing possible

Global oil and gas company bp signed a 10-year off-take agreement with Nuseed in 2022 to purchase carinata oil to further process into biofuels or on-sell.

In early 2023, the first shipment was processed by Saipol at France, with the oil delivered to bp.

It is unclear where the Australian-grown carinata will be crushed and processed into sustainable fuels.

Currently, bp does not operate a refinery facility capable of processing carinata in Australia.

bp Asia Pacific’s biofuels and feedstock originator refined products trading – distillates Dave Alden told the webinar bp was targeting its Kwinana facility as a key site to produce sustainable aviation fuel and hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) or renewable diesel.

bp operated the Kwinana site as a fuel refinery until 2021 and currently uses the facility as an import terminal.

“We’re transitioning that site into an integrated energy hub including green hydrogen production facility and a renewable fuels plant which is still subject to internal and government approvals,” Mr Alden said.

“If it gets approved, it will produce SAF and HVO or renewable diesel using liquid fats and oils…which includes, importantly, carinata oil.”

Mr Alden said carinata offered many benefits as a feedstock for low-carbon liquid fuels.

“We’re very excited about carinata’s opportunity in Australia with reference to both Kwinana, but also other renewable fuel-production facilities.

“Carinata brassica oil is a very low carbon-intensity feedstock for biofuel production….and better than used cooking oil in that instance.

“What we also like about the carinata oil is the scalability of it; used cooking oil…is finite by definition.

“In the right growing conditions and with the right roll-out, we can scale carinata to meet the needs.”

Carinata is commercially grown in Argentina, Uruguay and parts of the south-east United States.

Nuseed is initiating commercial production in Brazil and Paraguay, as well undertaking development programs in southern Europe.

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