Commercialization

A University of Guelph research team has made it to the third and final Scaling Phase of the Weston Family Foundation’s $33-million Homegrown Innovation Challenge. 

The National Association for Plant Breeding (NAPB) has announced its awardees for outstanding accomplishments in five categories, and among them is University of Guelph professor and soybean breeder Dr. Istvan Rajcan, who received the Public Sector Impact Award.

Read the story in SeedWorld Canada: A Guelph Researcher was Just Named Among the NAPB's 2025 Plant Breeding Rockstars - Seed World

Greenhouse and vertical farming technology came out on top among five entries in this year’s Ontario Agri-Tech Pitch Competition.

Interius Farms won the competition, in which five Ontario-based innovative early-stage start-ups pitched their products to a panel of investors on June 20.

The event was organized by the University of Guelph’s Research Innovation Office in collaboration with the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance.

The pumps, called FloMov, were created using the research of Dr. Wael Ahmed, researcher in the U of G School of Engineering.

Last week, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Ontario Minister of Colleges and Universities Jill Dunlop visited the University of Guelph to learn how the University is helping develop commercial solutions to challenges in sectors across Ontario’s economy through technology research and innovation.

This unique opportunity for early-stage Ontario companies to showcase innovations is run by the U of G Research Innovation Office and supported by the Alliance. 

The competition supports promising pre-seed and seed stage agri-tech companies with a unique opportunity to showcase their innovations, connect with potential investors and partners and refine their business strategies through coaching and mentorship provided by specialists with the Research Innovation Office.

The company came out on top of the competition that was hosted as an extension of the Gryphon's LAAIR program.

Read the full article on CBC News: Award-winning idea aims to produce healthy sugar substitute for diabetics or see past projects funded through Gryphon's LAAIR.

Cutlery and stir sticks made from coffee waste material and biopolymers in a certified industrially compostable biocomposite resin recently created by researchers in U of G’s Bioproducts Discovery and Development Centre (BDDC).

Longtime BDDC collaborator Competitive Green Technologies (CGTech) based in Leamington, Ont., licensed the formulation to make a compostable, commercially viable resin.  

The company is set to grow Ontario’s bioeconomy by bringing its potent sugar substitute from lab to market.

Biofect Innovations, maker of a potential sugar substitute, is the $10,000 grand prize winner of the inaugural Agri-Tech Pitch Competition held through the University of Guelph.

Event attendees selected Food Security Structures Canada as the People’s Choice winner to receive $2,500.

The Research Innovation Office at the University of Guelph is excited to announce the Ontario Agri-Tech Pitch Competition in collaboration with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs.

By uniting farmers, academics, agri-tech entrepreneurs and investors, this event will raise awareness about the problems worth solving and showcase investible companies.

Join us online to watch as the next generation of new Ontario-based agri-tech start-up companies battle it out to be best in class.