Feb 16, 2022
Valent boosts biostimulant efforts, aims for carbon neutrality
Valent BioSciences LLC will expand its biostimulant line in effort to help its parent company, Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd., reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
A new operating unit will be established within Valent to expand its biostimulant line with new internally- and externally-developed products for both the U.S. and global markets, according to a news release from the company.
The new organization will be created and fully staffed over the next few months, becoming functional ahead of the 2023 crop season in the U.S. market. The new biostimulant unit will work with partners in discovering, developing, and commercializing arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) products.
AMF technology supports Valent’s initiative effectively because AMF form a symbiotic relationship with about 90% of terrestrial plant species (including crops and forest trees) that provides many benefits, including the sequestration of carbon and improved soil health. As a result of this process, mycorrhizal fungi act as a direct air capture technology, which is trademarked as EcoDac by Sumitomo Chemical.
“Establishment of this new operating unit will assist us in growing our AMF business and helping meet rising U.S. crop production market industry demands for carbon-smart technologies,” said Salman Mir, Valent BioSciences’ chief commercial officer and chief operating officer of Mycorrhizal Applications.
Valent’s effort “will benefit not only our customers, but society as a whole as we focus on helping growers in sequestering more carbon,” he said in a news release. “It will also spur rapid development of global biostimulant products, which continue to attract increased interested and acceptance from growers around the world.”
Headquartered in Libertyville, Illinois, Valent BioSciences is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. Valent develops, manufactures and commercializes biorational products with sales in 95 countries around the world.
