Radicle Growth Backs Innovations that Turn Corn into High-Value Materials
The Radicle Growth and U.S. Corn Growers announced two winners of The Radicle Corn Challenge, which aimed to identify companies developing breakthrough technologies that create new demand for corn.
Citroniq and Future Origins were selected as the winners, with Citroniq transforming the plastics industry by producing 100% bio-based polypropylene using fuel-grade ethanol derived from corn. Future Origins is commercializing fermentation-based technology to produce sustainable alternatives to ingredients used in home and personal care products.
The companies will receive investment from Radicle Growth and a coalition of corn grower organizations, with Citroniq's approach utilizing domestically produced corn ethanol to create sustainable alternatives for one of the world's most widely used plastics. Future Origins' technology uses renewable feedstocks, including corn-derived dextrose, to create more resilient and traceable supply chains for ingredients traditionally produced from palm oil and fossil-based feedstocks.
The Radicle Corn Challenge was established to identify innovations capable of developing durable new markets for corn and corn-derived feedstocks. The initiative is sponsored by twelve leading U.S. corn grower organizations, including the Iowa Corn Promotion Board, which stated that companies like Citroniq and Future Origins are 'leading the way' in turning their harvest into valuable bio-based products.