What if the bread on your table could be climate-positive?
It may sound like a stretch, but through our recently published, peer-reviewed study, on Soileos and Nutreos performance across greenhouse and field trials, we found that this ideal future is quickly becoming a reality.
Rethinking Fertilizer
Global food security challenges are ever-present in today's changing climate. Fertilizer, the engine behind crop production, is a crucial- and often complicated aspect, central to solving this challenge. Due to inefficient use, and ineffective practices, traditional fertilizers contribute to significant environmental issues, including eutrophication, nutrient runoff, and greenhouse gas emissions. Supporting yields without risking the environment is a challenge that global agriculture needs to solve to improve productivity and meet climate goals.
This is where we come in – Lucent Bio is dedicated to reducing environmental impact through innovative approaches, like our flagship products: Soileos and Nutreos.
Its our mission to accelerate the transition to a sustainable agri-food system through innovative crop input solutions that are climate-positive, non-polluting, and based on circular economies.
Through the use of Soileos, our climate positive micronutrient fertilizer, and Nutreos, our nature based seed coating, we are helping shift the agricultural industry towards a sustainable future, one where your bread, beer and pasta help sequester carbon.
With peer-reviewed research published in the Open Journal of Soil Science, we have shown that climate-positive wheat is possible now and scalable across millions of acres.
Science Meets Soil
In 2023, Lucent Bio was the “Scale-up” winner of the Thrive | Shell Smart Agriculture Challenge, receiving USD 500K in grants from Shell Nature Based Solutions and Agriculture and Agri-food Canada to test the carbon offset potential of Soileos and Nutreos in an 18 month research project on wheat in greenhouse and field trials.
Greenhouse trials focused on evaluating GHG emissions in spring wheat compared Soileos and Nutreos applications against conventional sulphate based micronutrient fertilizers, and included an untreated control, as a grower standard practice. Soil respiration, an indicator of microbiome activity, crop yield, soil carbon levels, above-ground biomass, net greenhouse gas (CO2 and N2O) emissions, and the estimated post-harvest soil carbon balance were evaluated.
At the same time, large scale field trials evaluated the effect of Soileos Zinc on wheat fields across four different locations in Manitoba, Canada. Yield and soil organic carbon content were monitored and compared to wheat grown using grower standard practices, in which no Soileos Zinc product was added.
Published Proof
Results of the greenhouse trials showed that Soileos and Nutreos fertilizers promote soil health and resilience by increasing soil respiration rates and final soil carbon content. Soileos and Nutreos improved the relative carbon balance by 15-25% over the grower standard practice. It wasn’t just the micronutrients that made the differences, as Soileos treatments also out performed conventional sulfate based fertilizers by 13%, a testament to the unique Soileos mode of action and bioavailability.
In field trials, Soileos Zinc improved soil organic carbon 11% more than grower standard practices. Additionally, wheat yield increased in three out of four field trials when growers used Soileos Zinc, over their standard practice.
By pairing the field and greenhouse studies, we have found that Soileos and Nutreos enhance soil carbon sequestration by improving soil health and promoting microbial activity even in the first growing season. Together, Soileos and Nutreos contribute to an improved carbon balance in agricultural production.
This isn’t just a theory—it’s proven. Backed by replicated field trials, greenhouse trials, and peer-reviewed research, the results speak for themselves: 10.4 t CO₂e sequestered per acre in field trials, up to 26% improvement in soil carbon balance in greenhouse studies, and a 34% increase in microbial activity. These outcomes are measurable, repeatable, and scalable.
Climate-positive wheat is no longer hypothetical. Powered by our innovative, slow-release, biologically activated solutions Soileos and Nutreos, carbon-sequestering wheat is now part of a sustainable future where the food on your table makes a positive impact.
Why It Matters
" For food brands, it means a credible, science-backed approach to sourcing carbon-neutral wheat. For the planet, it means agriculture can shift from being a carbon source to a carbon sink—today, not decades from now. For growers, this means an upgrade from the traditional fertilizer. One that not only provides higher yields, but healthier, more resilient soils, and an opportunity to explore emerging carbon markets."
- Jason McNamee, Chief Operations Officer, Lucent Bio
For the Ag industry, integrating products like Soileos into our practices provides us with an opportunity to show that the way we farm grows more than just food, it is a delicate dance with mother nature to not just produce grain today, but a livelihood that lasts through tomorrow. This approach opens the door to new revenue streams for farmers. Beyond yield gains, Soileos creates opportunities to integrate with carbon inset programs or even design new offset projects where carbon credit revenue is shared with farmers. It’s a win for food, farms, and the planet.
"For Scientists & Agronomists – this means building credibility and confidence that climate-positive agriculture is real. Every greenhouse test, every field trial, every peer-reviewed publication adds proof. We’re giving growers and the world the evidence to believe in a better way forward.
- Farah Nour, Chief Science Officer, Lucent Bio
"For Lucent Bio, this is a milestone that puts us at the forefront of the agri-food industry. We measured significant carbon offset potential with Soileos and Nutreos. While agriculture is often a contributor to climate change, we are turning this around and showing that it can also be part of the solution. We are helping farmers improve yield, increase soil organic carbon and soil resilience, all while sequestering carbon and being part of the solution to climate change."
- Michael Riedijk, CEO, Lucent Bio
"For me, this means my generation has the opportunity to not just grow food, but to support the environment as we do it. It's not just about purchasing offsets, it's about innovating and adopting solutions that can support how we live our life sustainably on the planet."
- Isabelle, Marketing Associate,
The fertilizer solution behind climate-positive wheat is here. Incorporating Soileos into crop nutrition plans increases soil health, carbon sequestration and yield. Soileos is poised to become the new grower standard practice, providing a future of climate-positive bread, pasta, beer and baked goods. Innovation like this is a leap towards making the agricultural industry part of the solution to climate change. From lab to loaf, we’re proving that what you eat can help restore the planet. Learn more: lucentbio.com