Illinois gets $51 million for precision fermentation lab

A downstate tech hub recently scored a $51 million federal grant to develop new uses for Illinois corn and other crops.

Why it matters: Right now about 30% of all Illinois corn — about 274 million bushels a year — is sold by farmers for ethanol production, but that's expected to drop as EV use increases.

• The Illinois Fermentation and Agriculture Biomanufacturing Tech Hub (iFAB), run by U of I, could help those farmers by creating new markets for their crops.

How it works: Biomanufacturing means "taking any type of plant material and turning it into a valuable chemical, ingredient or fuel compound," iFAB regional innovation officer Beth Conerty tells Axios.

Friction point: For years, local food advocates have lamented the state's massive reliance on industrial corn and soy farming, a scenario that leaves us importing 95% of our food .

• They've long argued for increasing food security by growing more food people can eat, noting that less than 1% of Illinois corn is sweet and grown for human consumption.

Yes, but: Don't expect this investment to result in fermented corn pickles. Instead, Conerty says precision fermentation is being used to turn corn dextrose into hemoglobin that mimics blood in fake meat, or to ferment grains to make oil.

What they're saying: Conerty says iFAB's role is not to "revolutionize agriculture" in the state but develop new uses for Illinois' long standing commodity crops.

• "These are certainly more edible end products than ethanol," she points out, "and [hemoglobin] protein is more nutritious than corn dextrose."

What's next: Conerty says that beyond food ingredients, some fermentation researchers are looking to produce polyester, plastic precursors or rubber, "which is a step better than producing them from petroleum."