New investments help Lucent Bio build on previous project success

On the heels of opening their new micronutrient fertilizer plant in Saskatchewan with AGT Food and Ingredients, Lucent Bio is celebrating their latest success: an investment of more than $3.6 million into their product line development and commercialization.

The investment came as part of PacifiCan’s Business Scale-up and Productivity program in November 2023. Jason McNamee, Chief Operating Officer at Lucent Bio, said it’s a testament to the support the company is receiving for the innovative product lines they’re developing—crop inputs that improve sustainability from production through to on-farm use.

“This funding isn’t just for a product. It’s for helping to reshape the industry into a more sustainable, economically viable and globally impactful industry,” McNamee said. “By investing in these sorts of businesses, [investors] get to become part of that visionary endeavour. It really is like making the world a better place.”

McNamee anticipates the funding will help take its Soileos fertilizer—developed, in part, through two Protein Industries Canada projects, launched in each 2020and 2022—to new global markets, but he expects the bulk of the funding will go toward their newer Nutreos seed treatment. As a biodegradable and micro-plastic-free seed coating, Nutreos fits well into Lucent Bio’s commitment to environmentally sustainable production, as well as to their circular economy business model.

“It improves the value of the industry as a whole,” McNamee said. “You’re taking what we could call a sidestream product here, which has a certain value, and now you’re adding value to that product, which in turn adds value upstream and downstream of that product. So it really is a good example of a circular economy business model.”

In addition to the advancements the investment will bring to their product lines, McNamee also anticipates a boost to the company’s size and efficiency. The additional funds will allow Lucent Bio to bring on new team members, while optimizing their manufacturing process and reducing their overall carbon emissions.

It was their current processes, commitment to sustainability and product development success that brought them to where they are today, including having received the investments from each PacifiCan and Protein Industries Canada. McNamee, however, was quick to add that the support of industry was also integral to helping the company grow.

“We are so grateful for the support we’ve received over the last two years,” he said. “This is a relationship-based industry, and through Protein Industries Canada and the AGT team, we've become partners with Federated Co-op, and we've become partners with some of our providers … I just really appreciate the partnership and support that we have seen industry-wide and continue to see.”