BROOKINGS, S.D. (KELO) — A Brookings nonprofit is helping ideas in agricultural come to life.

Inside their massive lab in Brookings, Dakota BioWorx’s mission is to add value to the bio economy.

“What that means is really taking agricultural products, maybe waste products, and converting them into higher, more valuable use,” Dakota BioWorx CEO Craig Arnold said.

And they do that by collaborating with other companies.

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“It’s a very risky endeavor to put up a facility like this and it’s a build it, and they will come story,” Arnold said.

Arnold says they’ve already heard from plenty of businesses looking to work together.

“We’re currently talking to over 60 different companies now that we’re open and ready for business that are ready to talk to us about bringing their small scale technology, bringing it here and have us help scale it up,” Arnold said.

The connections that BioWorx has established is one thing that attracted Chief Scientific Officer Neal Connors.

“There are other parts of the country where they’re trying to pull that together in order to develop a biotech ecosystem. That’s already here, and I think that’s the other thing that was very exciting to me,” Connors said.

At their headquarters, you’ll also find a 3000 liter fermenter, which allows companies to make more of a product without the hassle of building their own factory.

“We have this opportunity using fermentation and other technology to transform those products into, for example, a biodegradable plastic or perhaps a sunscreen, or a alternative protein, or an antioxidant drink. We have lots and lots of market opportunities in the bio economy,” Arnold said.

And it’s all to help make innovative ideas a reality.

If you are interested in learning more about Dakota BioWorx, click here.