Key Takeaways
- Bayer and bp have entered a long-term strategic alliance to jointly commercialize camelina, an intermediate oilseed crop, under the brand name newgold, starting in North America.
- The partnership targets growing demand for biodiesel, renewable diesel, and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) – a market projected to nearly triple to 40 billion gallons by 2040.
- Bayer will leverage its seed technology expertise and farmer network, while bp brings fuels and refining capabilities to the collaboration.
- Camelina can be grown as an intermediate crop, in rotation, or on underutilized land – without competing with food crop production.
- The announcement follows Bayer's acquisition of camelina assets from Smart Earth Camelina Corp. in January 2025, with the crop already introduced in the U.S. Northern Plains and parts of Canada.
Bayer and bp Join Forces on Camelina
Bayer and bp announced a long-term strategic alliance on May 6, 2026, to jointly develop and commercialize camelina – an intermediate oilseed crop – for use in the renewable fuels sector. The collaboration will operate under the newgold brand and initially focus on North America, with the aim of creating a reliable supply chain for biodiesel, renewable diesel, and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
The biofuels market is forecast to grow substantially, with demand expected to reach roughly 40 billion gallons by 2040 – nearly three times current levels. Bayer and bp's alliance seeks to help bridge that gap by scaling camelina as a commercially viable feedstock.
Complementary Expertise Drives the Partnership
Under the terms of the alliance, each company contributes distinct strengths. Bayer will apply its advanced seed breeding capabilities and its broad relationships with farmers across North America. bp, in turn, will provide its expertise in fuels production and refining to support the downstream processing of camelina into low-carbon fuels.
“This alliance will help us to connect the value chain necessary to bring camelina to market and provides our farmer customers greater market certainty as they consider camelina on their farm. We are utilizing our industry leading breeding program to enhance the crop, and its untapped potential globally to help meet the needs of this growing market. We see this as a win for our customers and their farms, as it creates potential new revenue streams, but also a win for the renewable fuels market,” said Frank Terhorst, Head of Strategy and Sustainability for Bayer's Crop Science division.
“This collaboration represents bp at its best. Working with trusted partners with complementary capabilities to develop products customers want and need, while delivering value for our shareholders,” said Philipp Schoelzel, Senior Vice President Biofuels Growth at bp.
Camelina's Agronomic Advantages
Camelina is positioned as a low-carbon intensity feedstock with several agronomic characteristics that make it attractive for farmers. The crop is adaptable to both spring and winter growing seasons, is winter hardy, drought tolerant, and offers pod shatter resistance. Critically, it can be cultivated on idle or fallow land, or slotted between main crop rotations, limiting any potential competition with food production.
Under the newgold brand, Bayer plans to offer camelina as a flexible profit multiplier for growers in three primary ways:
- As an intermediate crop that adds value between growing seasons
- Within rotations to support sound agronomic management and income diversification
- On marginal or underutilized land to improve the productivity of those acres
Building on Bayer's Camelina Investments
The announcement builds on Bayer's January 2025 acquisition of camelina assets from Smart Earth Camelina Corp. Since then, the company has been testing long and short season biotypes and has already introduced newgold camelina in the U.S. Northern Plains as well as Southern Saskatchewan and Southern Alberta in Canada.
Biofuels are viewed as an important tool for reducing carbon emissions in transportation sectors where electrification is not yet practical – including aviation, rail, heavy-duty equipment, and marine applications. Bayer and bp's alliance represents a targeted effort to scale one such solution through a coordinated, farmer-forward approach.
27 Comments