US crop trader Andersons seeks deals to join green diesel rush

The Andersons, one of the five biggest U.S. grain traders, is actively seeking deals to take advantage of the fossil-fuel industry’s attempt to go green.

As more oil refiners look to take advantage of government subsidies and switch to renewable diesel, Andersons is considering partnerships ranging from helping to supply ingredients—like vegetable oil or discarded animal fats—to more direct pacts with refiners, according to Chief Executive Officer Pat Bowe.

Ohio-based Andersons already produces corn oil, a byproduct of its ethanol venture with Marathon Petroleum Corp., and last year set up a trading desk to buy and sell raw materials like soy oil and tallow, putting it in a prime position to gain from the burgeoning renewable diesel trend.

“It’s new, it’s booming and still shaking out who is going to do what,” Bowe said in an interview. He declined to elaborate on the talks underway.

American renewable diesel production capacity could surge to 4.9 billion gallons a year by the end of 2024, from about 827 million now, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.

The push for raw materials to make renewable diesel, which is nearly chemically identical to the traditional petroleum product and therefore relatively easy for fossil fuel companies to adopt, has driven up the prices of commodities like soybean oil and is raising questions about the impact on agricultural trade flows worldwide.