DuPont and NexSteppe sign agreement for sorghum development

DuPont and feedstock company NexSteppe have signed an agreement to develop advanced feedstocks for biofuels, biopower and biobased products. In particular, the development will focus on new sweet sorghum and high biomass sorghum hybrids.

DuPont has made an equity investment in the company which it hopes will enable it to breed and commercialise new hybrids within crops in both the US and Brazil.

DuPont says that sorghum is able to be grown in drought conditions, where there is little rainfall and high temperatures. Because it is only grown for a short season, it is also able to be rotated in a crop rotation system.

The sweet variety of the plant can be processed in existing sugar and ethanol mills, being used as a feedstock for the development of biofuels and other biobased products.

High biomass sorghum can also be used for biopower generation and cellulosic biofuels development.

Anna Rath, NexSteppe founder and CEO, says: ‘Sorghum is a crop with significant genetic diversity and great potential that has received relatively little research attention and funding. Combining DuPont’s world-class research and development capabilities with our industry knowledge, experienced team and singular focus, we will be able to rapidly improve the crop to produce feedstocks tailored to the needs of the biofuels, biopower and biobased products industries.’