SG Biofuels Expands into India; Names Subhas Pattnaik as Director of Operations

SAN DIEGO, March 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- SG Biofuels, a bioenergy crop company using breeding and biotechnology to develop elite hybrid seeds of Jatropha, today announced it is expanding operations into India and has named Subhas Pattnaik as director of operations for the market.  Subhas formerly led operations for Mission New Energy in India where he managed the rollout and operations of the largest Jatropha plantation acreage in the world spanning more than 200,000 acres, 124,000 farmers and five provinces.  

Subhas will play an instrumental role for SG Biofuels in India, including overseeing the development of multiple JMax™ Jatropha optimization centers to test and adapt elite hybrid cultivars of Jatropha from its extensive genetic library to a range of growing conditions in the country.

"India represents a significant yet untapped market for Jatropha and we are privileged to have Subhas, with his extensive experience managing Jatropha plantations throughout the country, leading our operations," said Kirk Haney, president and chief executive officer.  "We are excited about the opportunity to bring our hybrid Jatropha varieties to India to help fulfill the vast potential of the crop meet the country's significant demand for sustainable plant oil."

"While Jatropha holds tremendous promise as the primary feedstock for biofuels in India, its success is dependent upon the development of improved planting material with higher, more consistent yields than what is being realized today," said Subhas Pattnaik.  "With its extensive and diverse library of genetic material, applied plant genetics and crop improvement platform, SG Biofuels has the right approach to realize the crop's potential in India."

Subhas has more than 14 years of experience in agribusiness, including leadership positions at Aditya Birla Retail Ltd and DuPont India, where he was instrumental in initiating DuPont's Cotton Solution Project in India to provide a complete agribusiness solution to cotton farmers.  While at DuPont, he was certified as Six Sigma Black Belt following training at DuPont USA.

Through the JMax Jatropha Optimization Platform™, SG Biofuels provides a custom crop improvement program featuring access to the highest yielding and most profitable Jatropha in the world, the sequenced Jatropha genome and advanced biotech and synthetic biology tools to optimize elite, high-performing seeds of Jatropha for unique growing conditions.

SOURCE SG Biofuels

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