Evogene Ltd. (TASE:EVGN) and Ormat Industries Ltd. (TASE: ORMT) subsidiary Orfuel Inc. have signed a cooperation agreement to lower the production costs of biodiesel. The two companies will develop oil-rich soy bean and canola, not fit for human consumption, to use in the production of biodiesel.
The project has a $2 million budget, half of which will be financed by Israel-United States Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation (BIRD-F). The companies estimate that the project will take three years, the first two of which will be devoted to R&D by Evogene, and the third year will be devoted to development activity by Orfuel.
The companies note that soy beans and canola are the main sources of biodiesel. They add that, on the basis of official reports, biodiesel use in the US and Europe has expanded rapidly and exceeded 4.5 billion liters a year.
Evogene will contribute to the project its biotechnology techniques, such as gene and genetic markers spotting to enhance plant growth. Orfuel will conduct tests on the genetically engineered plants and examine their effectiveness.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on July 25, 2007
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