Bayer hopes to speed up biofuel feedstock plan amid Iran war energy crunch

LONDON, June 10 (Reuters) - Bayer is hoping to speed up a plan to facilitate North American production of biofuel feedstocks like camelina in the wake of the Iran war, the drug-making and crop science giant said on Wednesday.

The war has prompted a surge in fossil fuel prices and in turn driven renewed interest in biofuels - typically made from locally grown crops like sugar and corn - as a means to improve energy security and potentially cut energy costs.

Biofuels, which are usually blended into gasoline or used to replace diesel, become more economical when fossil fuel prices rise.

The fossil fuel alternatives have long prompted debate as to whether burning crops to produce energy will drive up food prices and deforestation rates. That has spurred innovation in second-generation biofuels made from organic materials that don't compete with foodstuffs.

Camelina, for example, is an intermediate crop that can be grown between main planting seasons or on underutilised land.

"We are targeting a couple of million acres of camelina production in North America, and we're in the process of evaluating expansion in other geographies,” Bayer's global head of cereals, cotton and canola Peter Muller told Reuters on the sidelines of the International Grains Council conference in London.

The Germany-based firm announced last month it had formed an alliance with energy major BP to commercialize camelina for producing biodiesel, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuels.

Muller said the firm had been hoping to facilitate its targeted acreage of camelina production by the mid-2030s, but it is now hoping to meet this target earlier given renewed interest in the fuels amid the Iran war.

"Those decisions were taken in a different context... Now it's about ramping things up even quicker," he said.

Muller added that Bayer was also about to close on a deal with a firm that will crush North American camelina, providing farmers entering the space with confidence there will be a buyer for their crop.

(Reporting by May Angel; Editing by Jan Harvey)