Can this sugarcane replace fossil fuels? China believes so

‘Super common reed’, a genetically improved variety of the considered invasive common reed (Arundo donax), has been presented in China as a sustainable solution to replace fossil fuels.

According to Landuo Biotech, a company based in the city of Wuhan (Hubei province, center) that is leading the project in the Asian giant, this plant offers an ecological alternative with energy, industrial and textile applications.

Since 2012, the biotechnology laboratory has developed more than 40 varieties of this plant by collecting germplasm from wild common reed, the official newspaper China Daily reported this Monday.

“Biomass has long been recognized as a potential substitute for fossil fuels. However, existing resources are often inconsistent for industrial uses.”explained Song Xin, general manager of Landuo Biotech.

With an annual capacity of 1.2 billion plants, the company has already cultivated 113,000 hectares in 53 regions in China.

The ‘common super reed’ triples the biomass of its wild version, reaching up to 4,500 kcal/kg and adapting to degraded soils and abandoned mines with a cultivation duration of up to 20 years.

“Once the reed is established, can be harvested multiple times over the next 15 to 20 years, optimizing the growing process and increasing productivity”Song highlighted.

Each ton produced absorbs 1.7 tons of CO₂, exceeding up to 50 times the average carbon capture capacity of Chinese forests.which, according to Wang Fan, from the Chinese Society for Energy Research, makes it “one of the most efficient carbon capturers in the plant world and a resource that allows the energy industry to have a negative carbon balance.”

However, a report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) places the common reed among the hundred most dangerous invasive alien species in the world.

Its uncontrolled expansion in degraded ecosystems has eliminated native vegetation crucial to minimizing damage from floods, such as those recently recorded in the Spanish provinces of Valencia and Albacete.

This plant consumes large amounts of water, up to ten times more than riparian forests, and its highly flammable nature aggravates the risks of fires.

In addition, it hinders the natural regeneration of ecosystems due to its resistance and capacity for regrowth.

Despite these challenges, Landuo Biotech emphasizes that its improved version contributes to ecological restoration, improving degraded soils and waters.

Eliminating the common reed is a complex and expensive challenge due to its great capacity for reproduction and resistance in degraded ecosystems.

Factors such as the shade of other species and strong frosts are essential to limit its expansion, according to Eduardo Lafuente, an expert from the Segura Hydrographic Confederation.

Initiatives such as the use of cane to make conglomerate wood, according to a team of researchers from the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), or its use in the production of biogas, as pointed out in an article in the journal ScienceDirect, highlight attempts to take advantage of this invasive species.