Terviva lands investment from Chevron Renewable Energy Group for its pongamia operations

In California, Terviva announced its investment from Chevron Renewable Energy Group. Together, the two companies expect to scale Terviva’s pongamia-growing operations and drive greater availability of pongamia as a feedstock for renewable fuels production. The new arrangement signals Terviva’s strategic growth and global scalability as well as the advancement of pongamia as a lower carbon resource for biofuels production.

Terviva’s elite pongamia cultivars have been developed over 15 years of research trials spanning nearly 2,000 acres in the U.S. and Australia. Terviva’s pongamia trees produce three or more metric tons of beans per acre, which feature a high oil content. The harvested beans are processed to produce oil, which can then be used as a feedstock, or raw material, for the biofuels industry. The combination of high oil yields with low inputs can create biofuels with reduced greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional fossil fuels.