What exactly is camelina?

Camelina, an oil- and protein-rich oilseed crop belonging to the Brassicaceae family, is of interest to the agricultural, scientific and industrial communities for its many assets. This crop, which requires little water and agricultural inputs, is also resistant to pests, drought as well as diseases and invasive species. 

It reaches maturity within a few months, which means it can be used in France during summer intermediate crop periods without interfering with the main crops grown in the rotation. 

Camelina is a short-cycle plant of around 90 to 100 days. As a summer intermediate crop, its ideal growing period is between mid-June and mid-July to ensure harvest between September and the end of October.  

Avril is experimenting this crop with the support of the vegetable oil and protein sector. The seed oil can be used in several ways but it’s with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) that outlooks appear to be the most promising. 

Once camelina oil is filtered and processed, it can then be mixed with kerosene to produce aviation fuel and, as such, be a key driver in producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The ecological benefit from this process is considerable as it would reduce aviation CO2 emissions by 80%.  

Although the industrial base already exists, a sound legislative framework is nonetheless required for business to be developed around camelina production.