ISA announces SpringBoard Challenge winners

DEKALB, Ill. — The Illinois Soybean Association announced the inaugural winners of the SpringBoard Seed Funding Challenge at the Illinois Innovation Network’s Sustainability Research Conference at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.

The 2025 SpringBoard Challenge targets five critical sustainability categories where soy-based inputs can displace petrochemicals: bioplastics, lubricants, PFAS substitutes, biopolymers and biofibers.

Four research project proposals were approved by the SpringBoard Technical Review Committee.

The winning proposals are as follows:

1. Self-Healing Polymers from Soybean Oil — submitted by Kyle Plunkett at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

2. Soybealon: Chemo-bio hybrid biomanufacturing of advanced biodegradable polyester amides, or PEAs, from soy meal and soy hull — submitted by Saptarshi Ghosh and Lahiru N. Jayakody at SIU Carbondale.

3. Low-carbon specialty lipids for liquefied soybean hulls — submitted by Junli Liu at Purdue University and Yan Zhang at SIU Edwardsville.

4. A novel method of separation, concentration and extraction of rare earth elements utilizing soybean oil and three-dimensional nanoporous micro-ribbons — submitted by Punit Kohli and Annie Vargas at SIU Carbondale.

An initiative of ISA’s Soy Innovation Center, the challenge is designed to find new uses for soy by identifying and supporting early-stage innovations in soy-based, non-food applications. The Illinois Innovation Network co-sponsors the challenge with the center.

“We’re excited to see this cutting-edge research unfold in the next year,” said Todd Main, ISA’s director of market development.

“Finding new uses for soybeans expands the market potential and will help drive demand in the future, ultimately increasing profitability for farmers.”