Unilever and Nufarm have announced a strategic partnership to develop and commercialise a 'crop of the future'. The project aims to cultivate crops with significant biomass to produce sustainable oils, which will be used as a base ingredient for Unilever's laundry detergents and beauty and personal care products.

The 'biomass oil' will be derived from the entire plant, including leaves and stems, in crops like cane and sorghum.

Nufarm has previously developed a variety of sugar cane called energy cane, which generates more plant matter and sugar than traditional sugar cane. Unilever's multi-million Euro investment will be used to develop a commercially viable variety of energy cane that can produce biomass oil. The partnership aims to optimise and cultivate the new crop at scale, contributing to Unilever's greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction ambitions and aligning with its goal to reach net zero emissions by 2039.

"By continuing to invest in biotechnology, we aim to further unlock the power of nature and build a more sustainable and diverse supply chain for the future. The partnership with Nufarm enables us to identify alternative ingredients for our household, beauty and personal care brands which will further support our ambition to reach net zero emissions across our value chain by 2039." said Neil Parry, Head of Biotechnology at Unilever.

The technology aims to reduce Unilever's reliance on petrochemical-based ingredients. The crop will also continue to produce sugar, which could be used in other biotechnology processes to generate specialty ingredients such as fragrances, enzymes, and cleaning ingredients used across Unilever's portfolio. Other uses of the crop could include using the remaining plant fibre for paper and board in packaging as well as for renewable energy production. Raw materials and ingredients account for approximately 52% of Unilever's GHG emissions in scope of its net zero ambition.

"This technology and associated know-how enhance Nufarm's novel, sustainable and scalable oils strategy in high biomass crops like energy cane and forage sorghum and provide new transformational oils platform potential. The agricultural industry has both the challenge and opportunity of the century." said Greg Hunt, Nufarm CEO.