Each year, the Illinois Corn Marketing Board continues to invest checkoff dollars into finding new opportunities for the state’s corn crop. Last year, the Board partnered with the National Corn Growers Association and other state boards to launch the Radical Challenge program, inviting startup and growth-stage companies to develop new uses for corn, says Board Chair Tim Thompson.
“Almost 100 companies participated. Some of the projects they worked on included green energy, green chemistry, new uses for biofuels, and then maybe rapid chargers that folks who have purchased electric vehicles can use. Ways to charge those vehicles in a green, climate-friendly approach were just some of the projects that were proposed. And I’m proud to say that a company in Chicago actually won the event with a green chemistry project.”
The program set out to invest $1.5 million in these innovations. Lakril Technologies of Chicago and New Iridium of Colorado each received $750,000 in prize funding.
