Rehovot and Yavne, Israel
September 24, 2007
Target is to develop high oil
yielding non edible crops growable on non arable land
Evogene Ltd. (TASE: EVGN) and Orfuel Inc, a US subsidiary of
Ormat Industries Ltd
(TASE:ORMAT) today announced a collaboration in the field of
alternative energy and biofuels, aimed at providing
substantially improved feedstock sources for biodiesel
production.
Biodiesel is an alternative to diesel fuel, based on oil derived
from plants. Biodiesel use in the US and Europe has rapidly
increased in the past few years, currently exceeding 4.5 billion
liters annually. Since at present the main plant feedstocks for
biodiesel production are soybean and canola, the increasing
demand for biodiesel has
resulted in rising prices for these important food crops and
other commodities. The increasing demand for biodiesel has also
resulted in substantial usage of arable farm land for non food
purposes. This situation has led to an increasing need to
develop alternative feedstock to serve the rapidly expanding
biodiesel industry.
Evogene and Orfuel will collaborate to develop non edible plants
displaying improved oil yield and capable of being grown in non
arable lands, thus addressing the key problems facing the
industry. In addition to the other benefits, these plants are
expected to significantly decrease feedstock costs for biodiesel
production. Under the
terms of the collaboration, Evogene will utilize its advanced
biotechnological capabilities (such as gene and molecular marker
discovery), in the development of the enhanced crops which will
then be evaluated in field trials conducted by Orfuel in the
expected target locations. In addition, Orfuel will evaluate
suitability and
methodologies for using such crops for biodiesel production.
Upon project completion, Evogene and Orfuel intend to establish
a joint venture aimed at commercialization of the developed
plants.
The companies obtained approval in principle for a grant from
the BIRD Foundation (Israel-US Binational Industrial Research
and Development Foundation) for financial support of the
project.
"For many reasons, there is an enormous and growing need for
alternative feedstocks for the biodiesel industry, and we are
convinced that with our advanced plant biotechnological
capabilities we will be able to develop appropriate crops for
this purpose” stated Mr. Martin Gerstel, Evogene's Chairman.
“With respect to the collaboration being announced today, Ormat
has continuously demonstrated its capability to translate
advanced technology into world leading products in the field of
alternative energy and therefore we are extremely pleased to
have them as our partner." Mr. Gerstel concluded.
"Practically this is a return to Ormat's core: Utilizing the
energy from the sun, however, this time for the production of
fuels rather than electricity." Stated Mr. Lucien Y. Bronicki,
Ormat's Chairman, "We are convinced that the synergy between
Evogene and Ormat will produce the type of "fruits" necessary to
allow an environmentally friendly solution in the field of
biofuels."
Dr. Eitan Yudilevich, Executive Director, BIRD Foundation said:
"The decision to substantially support this project is in line
with BIRD’s policy of promoting projects in the area of
alternative, renewable and clean energy and with BIRD’s high
involvement in these fields (e.g. Bio-Fuel and the Hydrogen
Technology). BIRD Foundation has already invested in such
projects and will encourage similar new initiatives."
Evogene’s mission is to be a world leader in delivering improved
plant traits to the agro-biotechnology and biofuel industries
through the use of a continuously improving proprietary platform
that combines state-of-the-art computational genomics, molecular
biology and advanced breeding methods. Evogene’s current product
development portfolio includes such traits as: abiotic stress
tolerance and yield, improving nitrogen use efficiency,
enhancement of cotton fiber quality, increasing oil yield for
the biodiesel industry and plant manufacturing of therapeutic
proteins. Evogene was founded in 2002 as a spin-off of the
agro-biotechnology
division of Compugen Ltd. (Nasdaq: CGEN). Evogene’s core
in-silico technology, the ATHLETE, is based on Compugen’s
proprietary LEADS computational platform. Evogene completed an
IPO on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in June 2007.
For information on Ormat Industries see
www.ormat.com
The BIRD (Binational Industrial Research and Development)
Foundation works to encourage cooperation between Israeli and
American companies in the various areas of technology, and
provides free assistance in locating strategic partners from
both countries for developing joint products. During its 30
years, the BIRD Foundation has invested in more than 740
projects that have yielded direct and indirect revenues of
roughly $8 billion. The BIRD Foundation supports projects
without receiving any rights in the participating companies or
in the projects themselves. Any financial assistance is repaid
as royalties from sales. The Foundation provides support of up
to 50 percent of a project’s budget, beginning with R&D and
ending with the initial stages of sales and marketing. The
Foundation shares the risk and does not demand that the
investment be repaid if the project fails to reach the sales
stage. The BIRD Foundation works in full cooperation with the
Chief Scientist’s Office at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and
Employment in Israel, and with the U.S. Commerce Department’s
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). |
|
