Belgium
June 22, 2011

The Industrial Crop Technology Company, QUINVITA announced today it received a grant of 715,000 EURO from the agency for Innovation by Science and Technology in Flanders (IWT). The grant allows QUINVITA and the team of Professor Bart Muys at the Catholic University of Leuven (K.U.Leuven) to establish a detailed R&D program on the agronomy and genetics of Jatropha curcas.

Henk Joos, the CEO of QUINVITA is pleased with the grant and the alliance with K.U.Leuven: “QUINVITA continues to have the ambition to deepen its knowledge basis on the agronomy and genetics of Jatropha curcas. The grant we receive from IWT to support this 3 year program allows us to understand the scientific mechanisms behind several agronomic and genetic findings in Jatropha curcas. It also allows us to strengthen our collaboration with the team of Prof. Bart Muys, which has proven through their recent scientific publications to be one of the leading research groups in the world on Jatropha curcas.’’

Prof. Bart Muys, Professor of Forest Ecology and Management at K.U.Leuven, welcomes the opportunity for a more close co-operation with QUINVITA: “QUINVITA is one of the industrial groups working on Jatropha curcas who has from day one been very pragmatic in its approach and who wants to build a facts and science based industry rather than a ‘’miracle syndrome’’ around the crop. As scientists, it is very re-assuring to have partners like QUINVITA. The award of the IWT grant is a vote of confidence in the quality of work ongoing on Jatropha curcas in Flanders.”

About Quinvita:
QUINVITA is a global industrial crop technology company focusing its activities on the professionalization of and the deployment of game change technologies in alternative energy crops like Jatropha curcas. For further information on QUINVITA see also www.quinvita.com.

About FlandersBio:
FlandersBio supports the release of biotech news, to inform the media about the press releases of its members, active in the sector.

FlandersBio is the umbrella organisation for the Life Sciences sector in Flanders, a dynamic non-profit, fee based organisation with 240 members. Our mission is to support and facilitate the sector’s sustained development. Our objective is to ensure that it remains a strong driver of economic growth in the region. The FlandersBio network brings together companies with innovative, R&D-driven activities in the life sciences – companies that are for example developing biopharmaceuticals, medical technologies or agricultural or industrial biotech products. Our network welcomes also academic research institutes and providers of capital, services and technologies to the life sciences community. By organising networking activities we build bridges between the different actors and by actively stimulating innovation and R&D FlandersBio creates an added value for the sector as a whole.

Website: http://www.quinvita.com

Published: June 22, 2011