2023-2024 Challenge Grant Program Winners

HempWood is committed to providing healthy building materials that are good for the environment, and its users. HempWood is made via a patented process that utilizes bio-mimicry to transform hemp fibers and protein based bonding agents into a viable substitute for anything solid oak can be used for.

Headquarters: Murray, Kentucky
Website: https://hempwood.com/
President/CEO: Greg Wilson, Founder
Contact information: (240) 291-0120 | [email protected]

Iristrac™ provides horse owners with a painless, non-invasive method of identification and a web platform and database to store and access their horse’s IDs and other records. The primary product of Iristrac is a patented equine iris scanner.

Headquarters: Prospect, Kentucky
Website: https://iristrac.com/ | https://eyed.com
President/CEO: Charles Buddeke, President | James Cambier, Chief Technology Officer
Contact information: (502) 724-4859 | [email protected]

Sunflower Fuels provides bio-based feedstocks to the power and refining industries. Sunflower Fuels’ mission is to harness the untapped potential of people and land in rural areas to grow energy crops that will extract carbon from the air and power the US economy.

Headquarters: Lexington, Kentucky
Website: https://www.sunflowerfuels.com/
President/CEO: Brutus J. Clay iii, Co-Founder CEO
Contact information: [email protected]

Parasight System is the world’s only push-button fecal egg count system for veterinary clinics. Provides instant imaged results you can email with your recommended treatment protocol.

Headquarters: Lexington, Kentucky
Website: https://www.parasightsystem.com/
President/CEO: Eric Hauck, president, CEO and co-founder
Contact information: (833) 233-7278 | [email protected]

RedLeaf Biologics is a biotechnology company combining proprietary plant genetics and extraction processes to develop a range of phytochemical extracts with valuable applications in health, cosmetics, wellness, and nutrition.

Headquarters: Lexington, Kentucky
Website: https://www.redleafbiologics.com/
President/CEO: Jordan Wood, ‍Chief Executive Officer
Contact information: [email protected]

Lepidext discovers, develops and commercializes safe and effective bioinsecticides to control lepidopteran pests in food and fiber crops. The result of their technology delivers improvements in sustainable food production and a positive impact on environmental health parameters by avoidance of use of alternatives synthetic insecticides.

Headquarters: Lexington, Kentucky
Website: https://www.lepidext.com/
President/CEO: Bruce Webb, Ph.D., Founder & President
Contact information: [email protected]

Spirited Biomaterials create Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), a scientifically proven fully biodegradable plastic substitute that can be used as a direct replacement for the look and feel of traditional petroleum-based plastics. It is a sugar polymer that is naturally found on the Earth and in our bodies which is why it can be broken down so easily by the microorganisms in the soil and doesn’t pollute our planet.

Headquarters: 354 E. Main Street Lexington, Kentucky
Website: https://spiritedbio.com/
President/CEO: William P. Meehan, Jr., CEO/Co-Founder Spirited
Contact information: (412) 251-2470 | [email protected]