Three staff members and two innovative plant cultivars from the Bioeconomy Science Institute are among this year’s KiwiNet Award finalists. The KiwiNet Awards celebrate science impact through successful research commercialisation within New Zealand’s universities and Primary Research Organisations.

The work of commercialisation staff and scientists at Plant & Food Research and Scion, two groups of the recently formed Bioeconomy Science Institute, have been recognised across KiwiNet’s Commercialisation Impact, Commercialisation Professional and Breakthrough Innovator award categories.

The Plant & Food Research Group is a finalist in the Commercial Impact Award for its work breeding hop cultivar Nectaron®. This cultivar has set a new standard for aromatic hops in the brewing industry, becoming an instant success in the US, the world’s largest hop market. Key to the Nectaron® innovation has been a new pilot brewing process within the breeding programme, which allows early assessment of the brewing characteristics of hops at the single bine stage and means distinctive hop cultivars can be more easily discovered.

A stand-out potato variety developed by the Plant & Food Research Group has also been named as a finalist in the Commercial Impact Award category. ‘Crop78’ is a new potato cultivar with excellent cooking quality that is outperforming other varieties and challenging the status quo of the global French fry market – consistently delivering high yields, strong disease resistance, efficient water and nitrogen use, and resilience to cold-induced sweetening that negatively impacts performance. ‘Crop78’ is in commercial production in New Zealand and advancing rapidly towards international uptake.

Scion Group scientist François-Xavier Collard is a finalist in the Breakthrough Innovator award category. François has led the development of innovative catalytic technology that converts woody biomass into a drop-in biofuel and is set to help reduce carbon emissions across the shipping industry. Through this process he has positioned a complex research programme for market readiness – taking it beyond the lab to create real-world impact. Catalytic technology involves using catalysts to accelerate chemical reactions.

Scion Group Innovation Manager Amanda Davies and Plant & Food Research Group Commercialisation Manager Sue Mugglestone are finalists in this year’s Commercialisation Professional Award category. Sue has been a driving force behind commercialisation at Plant & Food Research Group and its predecessors for more than 40 years – reshaping how the organisation protects and unlocks the value of intellectual property. Amanda has invested heavily in growing Scion’s commercialisation capability and has built a culture of empowerment and impact – transforming how research is positioned for industry, investment and the market. Amanda also mentors others in the field, particularly women building careers in science and innovation.

Bioeconomy Science Institute Chief Executive Mark Piper says creating impact and driving growth in the bioeconomy through science is a strategic priority for the institute.

“I’m really proud of our finalists, who highlight how the institute's science expertise and commercialisation capabilities are helping solve problems and generate impact for New Zealand’s bioeconomy, which is a critical part of the wider economy.”