Government of Canada invests up to $2 million to develop sustainable fertilizer technology

The federal government is investing up to $1.98 million to develop sustainable fertilizer technology to reduce emissions and microplastics.

Under the Agricultural Clean Technology (ACT) program in the research and innovation stream, Lucent BioSciences Inc. (Lucent Bio) will use the money to change the way that fertilizer coatings are made.

“Canadian companies are developing innovative solutions that can help make agriculture more sustainable and resilient. Through the ACT – research and innovation stream, Lucent Bio is developing technologies that could help farmers use nitrogen more efficiently while reducing fertilizer use, emissions, and microplastics. By supporting the development of clean technologies like this, our government is helping Canadian farmers reduce costs, protect the environment and build a more sustainable agriculture sector,” said Canadian Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Heath MacDonald.

Most controlled-release nitrogen fertilizers used in agriculture have a microplastic coating. With federal funding support, Lucent Bio will provide a more sustainable alternative by applying a biodegradable coating to these fertilizers, made from surplus starch fertilizer, which can help plants use nitrogen more efficiently.

The Burnaby-based company’s coating technology is designed to release nitrogen closer to when plants need it most during their growth cycle. This could allow farmers to use less fertilizer, reducing both greenhouse gas emissions and fertilizer costs.

“Federal government funding gives Lucent Bio the opportunity to take the technology we have been developing and move it into a new area with significant potential in agriculture,” said Farah Nour, co-founder and chief science officer of Lucent BioSciences Inc. “We’re applying our biodegradable biopolymer technology to controlled-release nitrogen to help growers get more value from the nitrogen they apply while reducing nutrient losses to the environment. Support from the federal government allows us to improve this work faster and brings us one step closer to putting a Canadian-developed solution into the hands of growers.”

In 2022, Lucent Bio received up to $1.3 million under the ACT Program – research and innovation stream to develop this technology for use on seeds, known now as Nutreos.

In this project, Lucent Bio is also partnering with A&L Canada Laboratories Inc, Bureau Veritas Canada, Simon Fraser University’s Chemistry Department and 4D LABs.

This investment supports the Government of Canada’s commitment to helping the agriculture sector adopt clean technologies and adapt to climate change.

The ACT program is focused on three priority areas: green energy and energy efficiency; precision agriculture; and bioeconomy solutions. To date, 535 projects have been announced under the ACT Program, totaling up to more than $314 million across Canada.