NCGA Honors Three Winners Driving Innovation in Consider Corn Challenge V

ST. LOUIS, Sept. 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — At today’s Bio Innovations Midwest event in Omaha, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) announced the winners of the Consider Corn Challenge V and the $300,000 prize pool. Three winners were chosen, each with a unique way to improve a product or process using corn to produce biobased materials.

“The Consider Corn Challenge fosters innovative collaborations between corn farmers and both the public and private sectors, which paves the way for new products, chemicals and applications. This year’s winners have continued to demonstrate corn’s adaptability,” said Director of Research & Market Development Sarah McKay. “Corn’s versatile applications as an industrial feedstock can be witnessed in the diverse approaches and applications of each of the three winners. This contest continues to highlight the fact that U.S. corn is an extremely flexible feedstock suited for biobased products and crucial to advancing the biobased economy.”

The three winners for the Consider Corn Challenge V are Aerterra, Terragia, and Arizona State University.

Aerterra

Aerterra is redefining indoor air quality with the first bio-based, renewable air filters made from U.S.-grown corn. Engineered to replace petroleum-based filters, Aerterra delivers high-performance filtration with a fraction of the environmental impact. By turning a traditionally disposable product into a sustainable solution, Aerterra helps homes, businesses, and communities improve air quality while reducing their carbon footprint.

Aerterra’s mission—Clean Air, Healthy Planet—guides every step. Aerterra is more than a product company; it is a bridge to the bioeconomy, proving how renewable feedstocks can replace fossil-based materials in everyday life. This innovation opens a new market for air filtration, aligning consumer health, climate action, and economic growth.

Through a subscription model built for “conscientious convenience,” Aerterra ensures customers never compromise between performance, sustainability, and ease. Positioned at the intersection of climate innovation and consumer health, Aerterra demonstrates the power of corn-based materials to reduce waste and accelerate a circular economy—showcasing how the products we rely on every day can help build a healthier planet.

Terragia

Terragia is developing technology to enable cost-effective biological conversion of cellulosic biomass to fuels and products—with strong potential value for corn farmers across the United States. The first application is fermentation of stillage from corn ethanol production, enabling ~10% more ethanol production, higher-protein DDGS, more corn oil, and an estimated $80 million in added annual revenue for a 105 MGY plant.

Building on research from Dartmouth’s Thayer School of Engineering and with support from DOE’s Center for Bioenergy Innovation (CBI), USDA, NSF, and private investors, Terragia engineers thermophilic anaerobic bacteria for one-step consolidated bioprocessing of cellulosic biomass—unlocking the energy in feedstocks such as corn fiber and corn stover without costly pretreatment or added enzymes. Terragia plans to partner with producers and co-locate projects at existing facilities.

Arizona State University

Arizona State University’s winning technology is a corrosion mitigation solution for crude oil pipelines that employs corn-derived inhibitors. About 25% of crude oil pipeline accidents reported in 2024 were due to corrosion. The U.S. has a quarter-million-mile-long crude oil pipeline network and produced 13.5 million barrels per day in May 2025. ASU’s non-toxic, environmentally friendly inhibitor adsorbs on internal pipeline surfaces to block corrosive substances and is designed for low-dosage, regular addition. Ongoing electrochemical tests aim to quantify performance and mechanism. This product could create a new market for corn producers and strengthen U.S. pipeline resilience.

“Finding new uses for corn and additional market demand is a key priority for NCGA,” said Kansas farmer and Research and New Uses Action Team Chair Chad Epler. “The Consider Corn Challenge provides a unique opportunity to harness the potential of corn as a versatile, sustainable feedstock. It not only showcases the ingenuity of participants but also fosters vital collaborations between industry and corn producers, paving the way for innovative, market-driven solutions.”

The total prize pool for this iteration was U.S. $300,000. Each of the three winners received $100,000 to advance their technologies toward commercialization. Learn more at ncga.com/ConsiderCorn.

View original release: PR Newswire – Consider Corn Challenge V winners
SOURCE: National Corn Growers Association