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Airable is dedicated to developing soybean-based technologies and therefore can generate more products, more quickly. We established Airable to answer a few key questions:

• How do we develop better soy-based products, faster and for less money?
• How do we create more high-value-added products from soy?
• How do we incentivize commercial and industrial companies to adopt more of our biobased inputs?

We achieve these goals without charging our commercial partners for our joint R&D efforts. Through that process, we can grow the demand for soybeans and make the farmers’ checkoff money go further.

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I wanted to create a fully funded lab with a more direct connection between research and commercialization.

Most other commercial and university labs focus on generating proposals that will earn a government grant for a specific research project, regardless of the commercial applicability. Later, a company may find the research useful, but, just as often, that research sits on a shelf.

Meanwhile, universities and most other R&D labs are tackling projects for 20 different clients simultaneously. From a company’s perspective, that means your product might receive only 5% of the lab’s time. So how productive can that be for the commercial partner?

When Airable partners with a company, that partner has already identified market demand – or some company requirement – for a specific biobased product or feedstock. The lab is more practical than theoretical, meeting existing needs.

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Companies come to us and tell us what they want – they specify technical targets – and then we see if we can hit them. We do the research at no upfront cost to them, as long as they commit to evaluating the samples we send them. They provide us feedback, and we adjust the formulation in response to that feedback, and we go back and forth until we develop a product that meets their specifications.

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Typically, Airable files the patent, and then we license the technology to the partner, with a commitment that they have exclusive rights in their field of use.

Once the commercial client starts selling that product, the states’ soybean checkoff programs receive the royalties. Those royalties fund our lab and our future research into new, value-added soybean products. 

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I have about 27 years of research and development experience – some might call it product development. I spent 15 years at Battelle, a nonprofit applied science and technology development company, where I received a close-up look at what works and what doesn’t work in the R&D space. Then I served more than 10 years working in product development for the Ohio Soybean Council.

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Airable is a business line of the Ohio Soybean Council, even though we’re our own corporation. Our stakeholders are the soybean farmers in seven states – Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, and North Dakota – and we’re funded by their checkoff programs. All U.S. soybean farmers benefit from our work, though, as our goal is to create demand for soybean products with exceptional value add.

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We’ve created products from soybean oil that are sold in 16-ounce containers that are priced at $10. Replicating that in product after product can have enormous benefits for our farmers.

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When you look at a soybean, 20% of it is fat, also known as oil, and 80% of it is protein, also known as “the meal.”

We do have projects that utilize the meal, or the protein, and we expect to develop more. Farmers have been eager to learn what else we can do with the meal.

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We’re seeing a growing demand for biodiesel and aviation fuel, which utilizes the oil. Farmers are expecting to have a surplus of meal, and they want to expand into markets beyond animal feed.

We’ve started some projects, including in the bioplastic space, that utilize the meal. We’re also looking at fermentation processes for new products – and those are the spaces where we want to grow.

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Airable can do chemistry and material science really well. Now, we’re expanding on the biology side, specifically bio-industrial fermentation. We’ll be opening a lab at Shawnee State University with those capabilities, built to our specifications, in the fall of 2026.

That partnership will also support our move into more bioplastics. Shawnee also has plastic processing capabilities – injection molds and extruders – already onsite.

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A commercial company might come to us and say, “We want a lubricant for this application with these technical targets.” We brainstorm with them on the material ideas and implementation, and then we go to work. As we develop prototypes, we work with them to test the materials and meet their specific needs.

If we’re creating a new molecule, we help the company through the required regulatory steps. We can help them find a producer if they don’t have the synthesis manufacturing. We can guide them on how to store the products, ship them, and apply them – everything our partners need to make their new product a success.

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Two brothers who owned a roofing company wanted to offer more sustainable solutions. So they founded Roof Maxx, a small startup company. They knew about technologies that were being used to add lifespan to asphalt in roads. They wanted to bring that concept to asphalt shingle roofs. The treatment would have to last for five or more years. The product would have to be sprayable onto the existing roof, and the shingles would have to absorb it. And the treatment would have to be effective through any kind of weather and sun exposure.

With all these requirements in mind, we helped the founders develop Roof Maxx, a soybean-based emulsion that rejuvenates asphalt shingles.

If your roof is 10 years old or more, Roof Maxx can extend the life of that roof by as much as 15 years. You can keep your existing roof longer and keep the old asphalt shingles out of the landfill. Think of it as a tune-up of your roof.

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There was a fair amount of trial and error on our side to hit their technical targets. How are we going to mix the inputs together? How do we keep it stable in their trucks until they get to the job site? And can we make it cost-competitive?

We also advised them on the value chain – from sourcing, to shipping, and storage.

They brought us a brilliant idea, and we helped them create it and execute it, from start to finish. The result is a product that costs up to ninety percent less than a full roof replacement.

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They make DeWalt and Craftsman tools, and we helped create the first non-mechanical, non-tool product for Stanley Black and Decker. They wanted a soy-based bar and chain oil, which is used as a lubricant for chainsaws.

Chainsaws must survive the heat, the cold, and a ton of wear and tear, and the oil can’t gum them up. We created an oil that is more than 90% biobased. It’s the first biodegradable bar and chain oil; today, it is in 1,500 Home Depot stores.

Now we’re working with them on additional greases and multi-use oils.

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We are moving deeper into bioplastics. To create demand for meal, we’re exploring both biotechnology and bio-industrial techniques.

Right now, we’re working with a company that makes bioplastic straws and cups. They had sourced materials from China and are focused on moving to soy feedstocks that are locally sourced.

We’re also working with a commercial partner to create soy-based materials that provide the positive benefits of PFAS without the negative environmental and health concerns.

For all of this, we have our soybean farmers to thank. They’ve been investing in R&D for nearly three decades. Airable is just the latest step, and we’re grateful that they’ve had the foresight to drive more value-add products to market, which supports soybean demand.