SDTC support will help Linnaeus advance production of camelina and safflower-based oils as renewable feedstock that can substitute for petroleum in a variety of high-value, non-fuel applications including polymers, lubricants, surfactants and other valuable industrial materials.

Linnaeus Plant Sciences has developed an integrated process to produce a variety of value-added, renewable, industrial feedstocks from camelina and safflower, for use in various industrial applications.

The result of the SDTC funded project will deliver two valuable new rotation crops to Canadian farmers. These crops do not compete with food crops, are short season, drought tolerant and provide renewable substitutes to petroleum without the associated pollution and greenhouse gas production.

Development of this technology is expected to bring millions of acres of drought-prone or marginal agricultural land into production, while reducing soil and nitrogen loss and GHG emissions.

Linnaeus has a licensing agreement with DuPont to use oil gene intellectual property, advanced gene technologies and biotechnology expertise developed by DuPont to accelerate the development and commercialization of camelina as a non-food industrial feedstock. Linnaeus also has developed lines of camelina and safflower (in collaboration with SemBioSys) that produce Hydroxy Fatty Acids such as Castor Oil which are key components in the production of polymers and lubricants.

The Linnaeus oil seed development team is based in Canada’s National Research Council’s Plant Biotechnology Institute in Saskatoon.