For decades, soybeans have been recognized as one of America’s most versatile crops, serving as a foundation for food, animal feed and renewable fuels. Today, however, a new wave of innovation is redefining what soy can do. From industrial lubricants and firefighting foam to construction materials, plastics and consumer products, soybeans are increasingly replacing petroleum-derived ingredients in products used every day.
Across the country, organizations including the United Soybean Board, state soybean checkoff programs, universities and private industry are investing in research and commercialization efforts that are transforming soy into the building blocks of a growing biobased economy. The Illinois Soybean Association’s Soy Innovation Center, the Michigan Soybean Committee, the Ohio Soybean Council and numerous other state organizations are helping bridge the gap between promising laboratory discoveries and products that can compete successfully in commercial markets.
These emerging technologies represent far more than scientific achievements. They create new domestic markets for U.S. soybeans, provide manufacturers with renewable alternatives to petroleum, strengthen rural economies and offer consumers products that combine performance with sustainability.
Creating New Demand for America’s Soybeans
Renewable fuels such as biodiesel, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel continue to represent some of the largest and fastest-growing markets for soybean oil. At the same time, researchers and entrepreneurs are finding innovative ways to utilize both soybean oil and soybean meal in higher-value industrial applications that extend well beyond transportation.
Every successful commercialization effort represents another customer for U.S. soybean farmers and another opportunity to diversify demand. Rather than relying on a single market, soybean growers increasingly benefit from a portfolio of end uses spanning transportation, manufacturing, construction, consumer goods, agriculture and specialty chemicals. This diversification helps strengthen long-term demand, supports domestic processing capacity and provides greater resilience for the agricultural economy.
Soybean checkoff organizations have played a critical role in making this possible. By investing farmer dollars into research, product development and commercialization, these organizations help promising technologies overcome the “valley of death” between university research and widespread commercial adoption.
Replacing Petroleum with Renewable Alternatives
One of the most exciting developments in the biobased economy is the growing use of soy as a renewable replacement for petroleum-derived chemicals. Technologies that only a few years ago existed primarily in research laboratories are now reaching commercial markets, demonstrating that soybeans can provide high-performance alternatives across a wide range of industries.
Today, soy-based ingredients are being incorporated into PFAS-free firefighting foams, engineered wood adhesives that reduce reliance on formaldehyde-based resins, industrial lubricants, hydraulic fluids, greases, surfactants used in cleaners and detergents, advanced polymers and bioplastics, roofing materials, protective coatings, sealants and specialty construction products. Rather than relying on finite fossil resources, these products utilize annually renewable soybeans grown by American farmers, helping create more resilient domestic supply chains while reducing dependence on imported petroleum.
Some innovations are already available to consumers. Through support from the Ohio Soybean Council and the soy checkoff, Environmental Lubricants Manufacturing (ELM) and its parent company, DGP, helped develop the DEWALT Biobased Bar & Chain Oil, a high-performance lubricant made with soybean oil that offers professional-grade performance while reducing reliance on petroleum. Similar soy-based lubricants are now used in forestry, landscaping, agriculture and heavy equipment applications across the country.
Other products have become common in industries where most people never realize soybeans are at work—from soy-based hydraulic fluids used in heavy equipment and elevators to transformer oils, concrete release agents, dust suppressants, asphalt rejuvenators and industrial cleaners.
A Win for the Environment
The environmental benefits of soy-based products extend well beyond simply replacing petroleum.
Many soy-derived products are biodegradable, contain lower levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and can reduce greenhouse gas emissions over their life cycle compared to conventional petroleum-based alternatives. Others help address emerging environmental challenges by replacing persistent chemicals that can remain in the environment for decades.
One of the most promising examples is the development of PFAS-free firefighting foam. Traditional aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF) have historically relied on fluorinated compounds that have become the focus of growing environmental and public health concerns because of their persistence in soil and groundwater. Researchers supported through soy checkoff investments are helping develop soy-based alternatives capable of meeting demanding firefighting performance requirements without intentionally added PFAS, creating an opportunity to protect both public safety and water quality.
The Michigan Soybean Committee has also invested in advancing soy-based technologies that improve environmental performance while creating new demand for soybeans. Through partnerships supporting industrial lubricants, biobased products and commercialization initiatives, Michigan farmers are helping accelerate renewable alternatives that can reduce petroleum consumption across multiple sectors.
Meanwhile, organizations such as the Illinois Soybean Association continue funding entrepreneurs through initiatives like the SpringBoard Challenge, supporting next-generation innovations including advanced biopolymers, specialty lipids, self-healing materials, renewable chemicals and technologies that use soy-derived materials in recovering critical minerals from industrial waste streams.
Better Products for Consumers
For consumers and businesses alike, soy-based products increasingly demonstrate that sustainability does not require compromising performance.
Modern soy-based lubricants provide exceptional lubricity, natural viscosity and excellent wear protection while offering improved biodegradability. Soy-containing tire compounds improve flexibility in colder temperatures and have been incorporated into tires produced by several major manufacturers. Soy-based cleaners, coatings, inks, adhesives and construction materials continue to demonstrate performance equal to—or in many cases exceeding—that of conventional petroleum-based products.
Because many of these products are manufactured using domestically grown soybeans, they also help strengthen U.S. supply chains, reduce reliance on imported petroleum feedstocks and support American manufacturing.
Many consumers may never realize that soybean oil helps lubricate a chainsaw, protect electrical transformers, bind together engineered wood products, preserve asphalt pavement or coat a commercial roof. Yet these innovations illustrate how renewable agricultural resources are quietly becoming part of everyday life in ways that improve both sustainability and performance.
Supporting Rural America
Perhaps nowhere are the benefits of biobased innovation more apparent than on the farm.
Every new industrial use for soybean oil or soybean meal creates additional demand for the entire soybean crop. That demand supports soybean prices, encourages domestic processing, creates manufacturing jobs and generates new economic activity throughout rural communities.
State soybean organizations continue leading many of these efforts. The Illinois Soybean Association’s Soy Innovation Center is helping entrepreneurs move promising technologies toward commercialization. The Michigan Soybean Committee has invested in expanding industrial uses for soy while supporting commercialization partnerships that create long-term demand. The Ohio Soybean Council has helped bring commercially available soy-based lubricants to market. Together with the United Soybean Board and other state soybean organizations, these investments are helping ensure that farmer-funded research translates into products consumers can actually purchase.
Rather than focusing solely on commodity markets, today’s soybean checkoff investments are creating entirely new industries built around renewable agricultural materials.
Innovation Beyond the Fuel Tank
Renewable fuels will continue to play an essential role in reducing transportation emissions and expanding markets for soybean oil, but they represent only one chapter in soy’s evolving story.
Today, soybeans are increasingly becoming the foundation for a new generation of renewable products that touch nearly every aspect of daily life—from homes, roads and infrastructure to manufacturing, agriculture, transportation and consumer goods. As industries search for alternatives to petroleum-derived chemicals and increasingly prioritize domestic, renewable feedstocks, soy is uniquely positioned to meet that demand.
Every new product brought to market represents another opportunity to reduce dependence on fossil resources, create value for farmers, strengthen American manufacturing and provide consumers with practical, high-performing products made from renewable agricultural resources.
As researchers, manufacturers, entrepreneurs and soybean farmers continue working together, the future of soy is no longer defined solely by what it can fuel—it is increasingly defined by what it can build.