The cause for Jatropha-based biodiesel got a big boost last week when British Petroleum penned a deal that formed a joint venture with biodiesel producer D1 Oils to speed up the planting of Jatropha. According to an EnerPub article:

… BP and D1 Oils will invest around $160 million over the next five years with D1 Oils’ share of the investment cost being partly funded by the inclusion of their 172,000 hectares of existing plantations in India, Southern Africa and South East Asia. BP will have exclusive access to the elite jatropha seedlings produced through D1 Oils’ plant science program.

If you missed my previous post regarding Jatropha, you might not know that Jatropha curcas grows on arid or rocky tracts of land and doesn’t require much in the way of irrigation. Since the oil-bearing seeds are inedible, and it doesn’t take land out of production for food crops, it seems to be the perfect plant for biodiesel feedstock.

In a press release, D1 Oils’ CEO Elliott Mannis stated that:

“This is a transforming event for D1. BP’s decision to join us in this new venture is a significant endorsement of our strategy to develop jatropha as a global raw material for the production of sustainable biodiesel. It shows we have come a long way. BP’s proven logistical, managerial and financial support will enable a significant enhancement and acceleration of the scope and pace of jatropha planting.”

While Iain Conn, BP’s refining and marketing business CEO stated:

“This joint venture is a further milestone in our strategy to develop real avenues to contribute to global energy supplies in ways that are sustainable and progressive. In the transportation sector, increased blending of bio-components offers one of the few real options for progress.”

This particular deal won’t do a thing to bring Jatropha-based biodiesel to our own shores; it’s purely pointed at European markets but, with BP on board, the push for worldwide usage of this type of biodiesel just took a giant leap forward.