The grant will enable the company to deploy its Clean Current technology, the first fossil-fuel-free method for controlling plant diseases, on a large scale.

HOLYOKE, Mass., July 11, 2024–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Clean Crop Technologies (Clean Crop) today announced it has received $1.2 million in funding from the Massachusetts Manufacturing Innovation Initiative (M2I2), a program of the Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CAM) of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech).

M2I2 helps bridge the gap between innovation and commercialization in manufacturing, primarily through grants for equipment investments. Clean Crop will use the M2I2 funding to work with additional contract manufacturing partners across Massachusetts to meet increasing demand for its product. The funds will also be used to scale the company's team, capacity, sales and impact locally at its seed toll facility in Holyoke, MA.

Clean Crop's mission is to stop global crop loss at the source. The company's EPA-approved Clean Current system is a dry, all-electric, residue-free seed disinfection process that replaces fossil fuel-dependent and chemical treatments. By combining electricity and air to create cold plasma, the Clean Current system inactivates a broad spectrum of contaminants on seed surfaces. It is the world's first industrial-scale cold plasma seed treatment device and can treat 25 to 50+ pounds of seed per hour. To date, Clean Crop has signed $3.4 million in orders for its Clean Current seed treatment from companies representing 39% of the global vegetable seed market.

“Seed contamination is a massive problem, resulting in $220 billion in lost agricultural revenue and impacting the global food supply. Traditional seed treatment solutions can reduce contamination, but they harm seed quality, require large footprints, are labor intensive, and consume fossil fuels,” explained Daniel White, co-founder and CEO of Clean Crop. “Clean Current technology disinfects seed without compromising seed quality or requiring chemical or water additives, while eliminating the risk of chemical runoff after planting. With M2I2's support, we can overcome our current capacity limitations and bring additional Clean Current systems online to meet the growing demand of the seed market.”

“These 13 companies have demonstrated tremendous potential for scaling production in Massachusetts,” said Christine Nolan, director of the Center for Advanced Manufacturing. “The Massachusetts Manufacturing Innovation Initiative (M2I2) program helps ensure that companies that use these funds to build pilot-scale manufacturing capacity also invest in their communities and employees. Manufacturing continues to be an industry that drives Massachusetts' economy and provides well-paying, sustainable jobs for people with and without college degrees.”

The story goes on

The M2I2 funding comes at a time of tremendous growth for Clean Crop. In May, the company won Fast Company's World Changing Ideas award in the agriculture category. Clean Crop was also recently named to TIME's list of America's Top Greentech Companies 2024. The Holyoke, MA-based company is partnering with Springfield Technical Community College to establish a workforce development training program for electrical mechanics in the area. Clean Crop aims to equip local residents, especially those from underserved backgrounds, with the skills needed to operate and maintain the Clean Current technology at its seed-finishing facility.

For more information about Clean Crop, including open manufacturing partnerships and job opportunities, visit cleancroptech.com.

About Clean Crop Technologies:

Clean cutting is a Holyoke, Massachusetts-based electrochemical innovation company specializing in industrial-scale food and agriculture solutions and has been based in the Pioneer Valley since 2019. Clean harvest The company's proprietary Clean Current technology combines electricity and food-grade gases to remove contaminants from seeds and food, increasing crop yields, reducing food waste and improving food safety. In 2024, Clean Crop was named to TIME's list of America's Best Greentech Companies. For more information about Clean Crop, visit cleancroptech.com.

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