The top executive at an Ontario bioscience company says he hopes to see production of carinata expand to at least 50,000 acres next year.
Steve Fabijanski, president of Ottawa-based Agrisoma Biosciences Inc., said recent approvals for carinata meal and anticipated approvals for carinata-derived fuels under the U.S. renewable fuel standard could open the door to more contract production in Western Canada.
“Our focus is really looking at 2015 as the big year of expansion for the crop,” Fabijanski said at a recent conference in Regina.
“For 2015, our anticipation is that we’re really starting at a minimum of 50,000 (acres) … and we’ll scale up to the appropriate demand.”
Carinata, also known as Ethiopian mustard, is a relatively new crop to Western Canada.
Its primary use is as a source of specialized oil that can be converted into a plant-based aviation fuel.
Carinata based rocket fuel was recently used to power jet engines during an experimental test flight in Ottawa. Pilots who flew the test jets reported no decrease in power or performance.
High-tech equipment used to measure emissions determined that jet engines using carinata-based fuel burned cleaner and produced fewer airborne contaminants.
Carinata was grown on limited acreage in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
Fabijanski said production during the past three years was limited, providing enough to meet the company’s needs for testing and product development.
Acreage is expected to grow as regulatory approvals are acquired and the fuel is adopted more widely by the aviation industry.
Contract carinata production in Western Canada is currently managed through Paterson Grain, which acts as Agrisoma’s exclusive marketing partner for the crop.
Fabijanski did not say how much of the crop was seeded this year.
Last year’s acreage was “modest” because the company was still waiting on important regulatory approvals, he added.
Recent approval to use meal from crushed carinata seed is seen as a key factor in the crop’s expansion.
He said the ability to crush the product locally and market the meal will improve logistics and reduce costs associated with extraction and fuel production.
Contract production will take place in close proximity to grain handling facilities owned by Paterson.
“We’re going to build our production base so it provides the best logistics to Paterson facilities, so it will be in the southern Prairies,” he said.
“And depending on where we have our crush arrangements, we’ll be contracting so that it will provide the best logistics to a toll crusher.”