The Crop Accelerator
OCT 27, 2021 - Today Benson Hill announced the opening of its new Crop Accelerator, a state-of-the-art, controlled environment research facility located near the Company’s St. Louis headquarters. The Crop Accelerator is operational ahead of schedule and under budget, with the facility’s first soybean and yellow pea seeds planted on September 17.
The Crop Accelerator is designed to provide a more than twenty-fold expansion in testing capacity, and incorporates automation and imaging capabilities to streamline operations and throughput. The 47,000 square-foot facility features Argus controlled dynamically adaptive Conviron® growth houses and chambers, equipped with multi-channel LEDs, additive CO2, temperature, humidity and lighting controls. The first plants are thriving, a testament to the facility’s design and operational efficiency, and experiments are underway to further reduce development timelines with a focus on scalability, speed and consistency.
“The Crop Accelerator is another example of how Benson Hill leverages cutting edge technology and innovative thinking to drive bold outcomes,” said Jason Bull, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer of Benson Hill. “By combining the AI-driven breeding capabilities of CropOS® with the controlled environment and accelerated growth cycles of the Crop Accelerator, our team can even more rapidly predict, test and develop game-changing ingredients starting with a better seed.”
About Benson Hill
Benson Hill moves food forward with the CropOS® platform, a cutting-edge food innovation engine that combines data science and machine learning with biology and genetics. Benson Hill empowers innovators to unlock nature’s genetic diversity from plant to plate, with the purpose of creating nutritious, great-tasting food and ingredient options that are both widely accessible and sustainable.
About Conviron & Argus
Conviron is the world’s leading designer and supplier of plant growth chambers and rooms. Conviron is part of the CEL Group of Companies and also includes Argus Controls, a leading supplier of advanced plant-centric environmental controls and automation systems used in greenhouse and indoor growing facilities. Together, Conviron and Argus provide technologies to our clients in the plant science research, commercial horticulture, and plant-derived pharmaceutical industries in over 90 countries around the world.
This press release was adapted from the original Benson Hill press release dated October 27, 2021.
