Neste and Bayer signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at developing a winter canola ecosystem in the US, including identifying partners and developing the value chain together, and scaling winter canola production as a raw material for renewable products.

While having a strong focus on waste and residue raw materials, Neste continues to actively explore and develop other types of renewable raw materials, such as novel vegetable oils produced by regenerative farming practices. Regenerative farming practices aim to trap carbon in healthier soils, promote biodiversity and reduce emissions from agriculture, while increasing farm productivity.

Neste is working together with value chain partners in several regions globally, collaborations varying from smaller field trials studying sustainability benefits of selected concepts to more mature projects using different regenerative agriculture practices. The aim is to identify the most promising concepts that can be scaled up and can play an important role in diversifying and growing Neste’s raw materials pool for renewable products.

This collaboration with Bayer aligns with Neste’s efforts to develop regenerative agriculture concepts. Used as a new alternative rotational crop, winter canola fits well to our novel vegetable oil concepts. Winter canola not only has the potential to result in lower carbon intensity raw material, but can also bring additional environmental benefits to cropping systems and provide farmers with new income opportunities.

—Artturi Mikkola, Senior Vice President, Feedstock Sourcing & Trading at Neste

Winter canola, used as a rotational crop in combination with regenerative agriculture practices, can improve soil health and sequester carbon, contributing to more sustainable farming. The resulting lower carbon intensity raw material can then be used to produce renewable fuels like sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel, that can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the life cycle compared to fossil fuels.