Green Plains Inc. and Novozymes signed a commercialization agreement for biological solutions in the production of high protein ingredients. The partnership will be aimed at aquaculture, pet food, as well as novel ingredients to be used in the global protein markets.

The collaboration will utilize the biorefinery footprint, process know-how and global distribution capabilities of Green Plains together with Novozymes’ vast expertise in microbiology to create a diverse range of value-added products resulting in functional proteins. Specifically, the biological solutions of Novozymes will be combined with Green Plains’ first high protein production facility and Optimal Aquafeed’s aquaculture laboratory in Shenandoah, Iowa, with the intention to create one of the leading end-to-end innovation platforms in the world for aquaculture nutrition.

“This exclusive technology partnership is another step in the transformation of Green Plains to a world class protein provider,” said Todd Becker, president and chief executive officer of Green Plains. “By partnering with Novozymes, we believe we will be able to increase the value of the products we produce every day and together provide solutions for our nutritional partners in the aquaculture, animal feed and companion animal food markets worldwide.”

Novozymes’ existing suite of biotechnology will help Green Plains achieve higher concentrations of protein. As part of the agreement, Novozymes will dedicate research and development resources to also look at new molecules and yeasts to test in Green Plains processes to further enhance protein products and ultimately create different, higher value outputs from Green Plains’ biofuels production facilities.

“As we continue to roll out high protein nutritional solutions for our customers, we expect to create a company with predictable and growing earnings and become much less dependent on our traditional business structure,” added Becker. “This is a continuation of the transformation of Green Plains to a leading nutritional and ag-tech company focused on developing value-added products for animal feed and aquaculture customers globally fully utilizing the production capabilities we have in place today.”

The companies plan to begin implementation of the partnership in the first quarter of 2020.