Ceres takes bioenergy seed business public

Biomass Power & Thermal
By Kris Bevill June 01, 2011

Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based energy crop seed developed Ceres Inc. filed papers with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on May 23 for an initial public offering, hoping to raise up to $100 million to fund the expansion of its business. Specifically, the company is seeking to expand its operations in Brazil, establish additional collaborative agreements to commercialize cellulosic biofuels and continue to develop intellectual property for further product improvements.

Ceres has spent several years developing dedicated energy crop seeds for biofuels and bioenergy production. Among them are sweet sorghum, high biomass sorghum and switchgrass varieties, which the company markets under its Blade Energy Crops brand. According to the company’s S-1 filing, Ceres believes Brazil is the most promising initial market for its products. A joint venture between Brazil’s Grupo São Martinho S.A. and Petrobras Biofuels recently planted and harvested Ceres’ sweet sorghum to produce ethanol and power using existing agricultural equipment and processing infrastructure. Similar projects are also in the works with other Brazilian ethanol producers, including Archer Daniels Midland Co.’s Brazilian subsidiary. Ceres stated in its filing that the success of the first commercial-scale planting proves the “drop-in” nature of its sweet sorghum products. The shorter growing cycle and reduced water and fertilizer requirements of the sweet sorghum compared to sugarcane should encourage greater use by Brazilian mills because it will allow them to extend their typical 200-day production schedules by about 60 days, the company stated.

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