SG Biofuels Launches Operations in Brazil; Appoints Fernando Reinach as Senior Advisor

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- SG Biofuels, a bioenergy crop company using breeding and biotechnology to develop elite seeds of Jatropha, today formally launched business operations in Brazil and introduced Brazilian entrepreneur and genomics innovator Fernando Reinach as its senior advisor for the market.

Reinach will provide strategic planning, business development and executive management support for SG Biofuels Brasil, LTD, a subsidiary of SG Biofuels based in Sao Paulo.

"We are privileged to add Fernando and his unique combination of entrepreneurial success and industry-leading expertise in breeding and genomics to our effort in Brazil," said Kirk Haney, president and chief executive officer.  "His guidance will be invaluable as we expand our R&D platform and agricultural development efforts in one of the most promising growth markets for Jatropha."

Until recently, Reinach was a general partner of Votorantim Ventures, a venture capital fund of the Votorantim Group, one of Brazil's largest private conglomerates with revenues of US$8 billion. He also serves as a board member of Amyris.  He is one of the founders of CanaVialis, the world's largest breeder of sugarcane (acquired by Monsanto in 2008), as well as Alellyx (also acquired by Monsanto in 2008), now the world's largest sugarcane biotechnology company.  In 1990, he co-founded Genomic Engenharia Molecular, one of the first Brazilian companies to perform DNA and paternity tests and one of the country's largest DNA testing companies.

"SG Biofuels' breeding and biotechnology platform is the right approach to develop Jatropha as a viable feedstock for biofuels in Brazil," said Reinach.  "By improving yields through genomics and regional adaptation, I believe there is a large opportunity to complement Brazil's global leadership in sugarcane and ethanol with a successful Jatropha industry."

Reinach organized and was a coordinator of the Brazilian Genome project, an initiative by a number of institutions aimed at sequencing the genomes of Xylella fastidiosa and Xanthomonas citri bacteria.  He graduated with a degree in biology from the University of Sao Paulo (USP) and has a Ph.D. in cellular and molecular biology from Cornell University.

Through the JMax Jatropha Optimization Platform™, SG Biofuels offers energy companies, research agencies and growers a custom crop improvement program providing access to the world's largest and most diverse library of Jatropha genetic material, the sequenced Jatropha genome and advanced biotech and synthetic biology tools to optimize elite seeds of Jatropha for unique growing conditions.

SG Biofuels is collaborating with a number of partners to develop Jatropha, including Bunge, a global leader in oilseed processing, Flint Hills Resources, a leading refining and petrochemical company and wholly-owned subsidiary of Koch Industries, and Life Technologies Corporation, a global biotechnology tools company.

SOURCE SG Biofuels