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Ineos Enterprises enters jatropha partnership

18th April, 2008

UK-based biodiesel producer Ineos Enterprises has entered into a partnership with UK-based jatropha project developer Viridas to develop significant growth in the sustainable output of jatropha for biodiesel.

Viridas is pioneering the development of owned and managed jatropha projects in Brazil.

Ineos Enterprises will bring to the partnership a significant outlet for jatropha oil through its ambitious strategy to become a leading European biodiesel supplier.

Viridas is progressing an investment programme including the acquisition in Brazil of 250,000 hectares of idle land for the contracted annual production of 500,000 tonnes of sustainable high quality jatropha oil.

Jatropha oil is a non-food feedstock for biodiesel production that can be grown on marginal land and needs only limited supplies of water, fertiliser and pesticides. Jatropha, which is crushed for oil extraction, will be planted and harvested using adapted agricultural technologies and systems. This will allow idle land to be replanted with trees and for the pruning and harvesting to use highly efficient farming practices.

'We continue to explore opportunities to develop sustainable feedstocks for biodiesel production, working in partnership with growers, and this partnership is a further demonstration of our continued commitment to this rapidly emerging sector,' Harry Deans, CEO of Ineos Enterprises, says.

Ineos Enterprises is pressing ahead with its programme of investments in new world-scale biodiesel facilities globally, including the expansion of its existing operations at Baleycourt, France.