CHICAGO — The Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) has opened its soy innovation center in Chicago. The new center was created to support and spur the state of Illinois’ goal to be a national leader in sustainable technology and innovation through the commercialization and expansion of new and existing sustainable, soy-based products.
“With world-class research facilities, robust financial organizations, well-established manufacturing facilities and a highly trained workforce, Illinois is at the forefront of sustainable agricultural innovations,” said Todd Main, director of market development for the ISA. “This first-of-its-kind soy innovation center provides ISA significant opportunities to spur research, commercialize soy-based sustainable technology solutions and support this burgeoning work by enabling new collaborations across the corporate, financial, scientific and agricultural sectors.”
The ISA said the center will offer customers “viable, renewable alternatives” to products containing petroleum and other fossil-based chemical compounds, and it will help customers meet the growing demand for sustainably produced products across the supply chain. The association also said it plans to collaborate directly with businesses, innovators, scientists and entrepreneurs to show proof of concept, commercialize and deploy their bio-based products.
The soy innovation center also will provide an array of advisory and consulting services to companies as they scale and expand their soy-based product offerings. In addition, the ISA said it will consider capital investments in organizations that engage with the soy innovation center.
As part of the center’s opening, the ISA issued a Request for Information (RFI) from entrepreneurs, inventors and others who are working through challenges in commercializing, introducing or scaling the availability of soy- and bio-based products into the marketplace.
“Many ag-tech organizations focus on advancements that help farmers increase crop yields,” said Steve Pitstick, chair of government relations, and former chairman of the ISA. “However, ISA’s soy innovation center is different because it’s going to help bring new soy-based technologies to market, which ultimately will increase demand for soybeans. Over time, that will bring more value to the commodity itself and the farmers who grow it.”
Executives of the ISA were joined at the center’s opening by Josh Messner, an official with the US Department of Energy, and Scott Halpin, state executive director of the USDA Farm Service Agency.