Illinois Soybean Association: 2026 SpringBoard Challenge

The Soy Innovation Center’s SpringBoard Challenge is a statewide innovation and funding program that’s designed to spark and support new soy-based technologies and products. As markets continue to shift and sustainability becomes mainstream, this Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) project aims to commercialize price- and performance-competitive products, specifically those that create direct value for Illinois soybean farmers.

Through research funding and commercialization support, the SpringBoard Challenge connects researchers, farmers and industry partners to help move promising ideas from the lab to market with the goal of developing new soy-based products, creating tangible benefits for our farmers and securing long‑term demand growth for Illinois soybeans.

The challenge is focused on five key areas: Bioplastics, Lubricants, PFAS Substitutes, Biopolymers and Soy Products on the Farm. The 2025 selected submissions highlighted the many possibilities for soy: Self-Sealing polymers from Soybean Oil, Soybealon, Low-carbon specialty lipids for liquefied soybean hulls and A novel method of separation, concentration, and extraction of rare earth elements utilizing soybean oil and three-dimensional nanoporous micro-ribbons. 

Building on last year’s momentum, the 2026 SpringBoard Challenge introduces a new category, Soy Products on the Farm, which replaces the former Biofabrics focus. Soy Products on the Farm are, as the title states, soy-based products designed specifically for on-farm use, reinforcing the Soy Innovation Center’s commitment to farmer-focused innovation.

“When you say soybean, most automatically think of the ag colleges. This is great, but our real target audiences are material and chemical scientists and engineers. Those are the people that need to be engaged, either from the industry or universities.” 

SpringBoard Challenge Project Lead Peter Creticos who serves as President and Executive Director of the Institute for Work & the Economy, looks forward to including more farmer emphasis and input this year.

“We’ve heard from several farmers with ideas for soy-based farm products over the last year,” said Creticos. “At this year’s SpringBoard Conference, we hosted an entire session covering soy product innovations made for the farm, which resulted in several productive product development discussions.”

To launch this year’s effort, the 2026 SpringBoard Conference was held March 4-5 at the ISA Bloomington office. The event featured sessions on commercialization, farmer-led discussions, researcher presentations and panels that linked the farm, research and industry, also known as the “innovation triangle.”

Challenge Structure

The SpringBoard Challenge takes place in two stages: preproposals followed by invited proposals. All interested project teams must first submit a preproposal to be considered for advancement. From that pool of ideas, select teams will be invited to submit a full project proposal, with funding awarded to proposals accepted at the conclusion of the invited proposal stage.

Two panels will review submissions received in both stages. One panel is a national technical advisory committee made up of experts in agricultural product utilization, and the second panel consists of ISA leaders.

The preproposal is limited to three pages and should include the project name, project team, team leader, contact information, institutional capacity and partnerships, and a project description. The description should address the innovation being pursued, the applied research problems being investigated, how the applied research problem will be investigated, the kind of research that will be conducted and the foreseeable commercial market or application of the proposed applied research and resulting product. Preproposal papers must be submitted to ISA by 5 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.

On April 15, the ISA technical advisory team will invite select groups from each of the five designated areas to submit a full project proposal. Invitations will include feedback and questions that must be addressed in the invited proposal. 

Invited proposals will require comprehensive descriptions of the scientific, technical and methodological challenges that will be addressed by the proposed research, along with a summary of how the team plans to tackle them. Proposals must also include details about the necessary materials and equipment, the existing capacity and the anticipated needs of the project team. Detailed budgets must also be included. Full proposals are due to ISA by 5 p.m. CDT May 22, 2026, and project winners will be publicly announced July 1.

Who should apply? 

The SpringBoard Challenge encourages submissions from innovators across a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds. “When you say soybean, most automatically think of the ag colleges. This is great, but our real target audiences are material and chemical scientists and engineers. Those are the people that need to be engaged, either from the industry or universities,” said Creticos.

Although agricultural expertise is valuable, applicants are not required to come from traditional ag backgrounds. Teams that combine technical innovation with a clear path to commercialization are strongly encouraged to apply.

SpringBoard’s long-term vision

At its core, the SpringBoard Challenge is about more than funding individual projects or annual funding cycles. “My personal vision is to develop a self-sustaining innovation ecosystem, where people are naturally coming up with ideas for how you can use soy to make things, without prompting from us,” said Creticos.

By consistently supporting applied research, encouraging cross-disciplinary collaboration and prioritizing product commercialization, the Soy Innovation Center SpringBoard Challenge aims to establish Illinois as a national leader in soy-based innovation. Over time, this approach helps attract new talent, investment and industries, all while reinforcing demand for Illinois-grown soybeans and delivering tangible benefits back to the farmer.

For more information about the 2026 SpringBoard Challenge, visit ilsoy.org/springboard-challenge/.

Author

Todd Main

Source

Illinois Soybean Association, press release, 2026-03-01.

Supplier

Illinois Soybean Association
Soy Innovation Center / Illinois Soybean Association

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