Co-founder Andrew Lefkowitz will pitch award-winning soil “probiotic” technology to potential investors and other industry stakeholders
SOLON, Ohio (April 27, 2020) — Locus Agricultural Solutions® (Locus AG), a growth-stage agtech B Corp™ that is advancing the climate-smart agriculture trend, has been selected to present its technology for fighting climate change and increasing food security to investors and industry representatives at the NREL Industry Growth Forum (IGF) 2020 being held virtually April 29-30.
The IGF, celebrating its 25th anniversary, is hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and is one of the nation’s premier events for cleantech entrepreneurs and other industry experts. Locus AG is one of 40 cleantech startups selected from a global field of more than 150 companies following an extensive evaluation process.
“It says a lot that Locus AG got invited to IGF 2020 as the only company in the world with a technology that can be used to grow more food on less land, fight global warming and reduce the amount of toxic chemicals used by growers,” said Andrew Lefkowitz, co-founder and a 2019 EY Entrepreneur of the Year®. “We’ll be pitching investors on our differentiators that include having a proven, in-demand technology that can deliver up to 100 times the value of other products, a business with a stunningly low Opex and single-digit Capex compared to competitors—for an 85% profit margin—and an executive team that’s built and sold companies for 7 times the revenue and 24 times EBIDTA. We’re looking forward to it.”
Locus AG works to address the interrelated challenges of climate change and food insecurity using high-potency, non-GMO microbes. Farmers and growers across the country use Rhizolizer® and Terradigm™ – its global award-winning line of customized soil amendments or “probiotics” – to boost yields and income up to 40 percent, and sequester up to 9 additional tons of carbon per acre while cutting costs and environmental impacts. Farmers participating in its CarbonNOW™ program can expect to see a two to three times ROI from an increased performance for yield and quality. They also stand to double or triple revenue by monetizing carbon credits for each ton of carbon sequestered.
Several hundred cleantech investors, entrepreneurs and industry representatives are expected to attend this year’s Virtual IGF 2020. The online event will include the pitch competition and one-on-one networking meetings—the heart of the IGF—over the course of two days. Among the attendees will be 40 of the nation’s most promising startup companies, including Locus AG, that will be presenting their cleantech innovations to potential investors and industry experts. In addition, the companies will compete for the 2020 Clean Energy Venture Awards.
“It’s our 25th anniversary and the IGF has become more crucial than ever,” said Richard Adams, director of NREL’s Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center that manages the IGF. “We are excited to see the clean technologies the IGF presenters deliver this year. These technologies not only address market needs but offer viable solutions to the world’s energy challenges.”
For more information and a complete list of IGF presenting companies, please visit https://www.nrelforum.com/.
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About Locus Agricultural Solutions
Locus Agricultural Solutions® (Locus AG) is an agtech B Corp™ that is working to solve the interrelated challenges of climate change and food insecurity. Its innovative, award-winning microbial soil “probiotics” and CarbonNOW™ program give farmers a new way to boost yields, income and sequester carbon while reducing their costs and environmental impact. Locus AG gets its core scientific capabilities from its parent company, Locus Fermentation Solutions, an Ohio-based green technology company. For more information, visit LocusAG.com.