New partnership will develop and enable AI technology that will reduce energy use and enhance ingredient production
Summerland, BC, June 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Canada’s ability to create more value from its agricultural resources is taking a significant step forward. Today, Protein Industries Canada announced a new project with Crush Dynamics and Atomic47 Labs to develop a revolutionary AI-enabled fermentation platform that uses existing industrial sensors and advanced machine learning to continuously infer fermentation conditions, food safety indicators, energy performance and process health in real time.
By transforming conventional fermentation from a manually managed process into an intelligent, autonomous system, the technology has the potential to significantly reduce energy consumption, improve product consistency, increase production efficiency and unlock new value from agricultural byproducts, creating a new model for smart and sustainable food manufacturing.
“With support from Protein Industries Canada, one of Canada’s global innovation clusters, Crush Dynamics and its partners will use AI-driven innovation to strengthen Canada’s food supply chain and reinforce our leadership in global food production,” said the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions. “Automating industrial fermentation enables Canadian companies to compete internationally, reduce waste and promote more sustainable food production. This is the kind of cutting‑edge technology that advances our government’s commitment to a strong, resilient and sustainable economy for all Canadians.”
“Innovation is key to strengthening Canada’s food processing sector. By using artificial intelligence to improve fermentation processes, this project will help food manufacturers adopt predictive, advanced technologies that boost domestic processing capacity,” said The Honourable Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.
The development of new technology across the food production and value-added agriculture sector provides an opportunity for Canada to further strengthen its domestic food processing capacity. AI technology takes this a step further, helping companies enhance work efficiencies and product sustainability, while growing their market footprint-helping Canada strengthen its own global competitiveness and domestic food supply chain.
“Canada’s ability to make more from what we grow relies on our food processors having the tools they need to succeed, and AI systems are an important part of that,” Protein Industries Canada CEO Tyler Groeneveld said. “With the development of a new AI system that helps improve energy usage while reducing waste, Canada’s food processors can make great strides in not just strengthening our domestic food supply chain, but also in improving food options for families here and around the world.”
Throughout the project, Crush Dynamics and Atomic47 Labs will integrate artificial intelligence into Crush Dynamics’ commercial fermentation platform, enabling real-time process monitoring, prediction and optimization. The technology is expected to reduce energy consumption, improve product consistency, strengthen food safety controls and increase production efficiency. By making fermentation more predictable, scalable and cost-effective, the project will accelerate the conversion of agricultural byproducts into high-value food ingredients and help advance a more sustainable and competitive Canadian food manufacturing sector.
“This project is about making more from what we already grow,” said Kirk Moir, CEO of Crush Dynamics. “We’re combining our fermentation technology with advanced AI to help transform agricultural sidestreams into high-value ingredients more efficiently and consistently. It’s an important step toward reducing waste, improving sustainability and strengthening Canada’s food manufacturing sector.”
“This project is about moving fermentation from reactive decision-making to intelligent, real-time control. By combining Crush Dynamics’ fermentation expertise with Atomic47’s AI, digital twin and industrial control capabilities, we are building a platform that can improve consistency, reduce waste, and help Canadian food processors scale more sustainable ingredient production,” said Karen Olsson, CEO of Atomic47 Labs Inc.
A total of $1.4 million has been committed to the project, with Protein Industries Canada committing $607,000 and the partners together committing the remainder. Protein Industries Canada’s artificial intelligence stream is funded as part of the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy (PCAIS), through which the Government of Canada is investing in efforts to drive the adoption of artificial intelligence across Canada’s economy and society.
Protein Industries Canada is one of Canada’s five Global Innovation Clusters. These projects are part of Protein Industries Canada’s broader effort to support domestic innovation and drive forward The Road to $25 Billion-a national vision to grow Canada’s plant-based food, feed, and ingredient sector into a $25 billion industry and make Canada the leading provider of plant-based ingredients. This work toward a $25 billion industry builds on the industry’s efforts to Make It Here, a Protein Industries Canada initiative to help bring more value and opportunity to Canada’s crops, economy, food sector and families across the country.
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About Crush Dynamics
Crush Dynamics is an agritech company working with food and beverage manufacturers to develop and reformulate products with clean-label ingredients. Proven, scalable outcomes include improved texture and nutritional profiles, and cost savings compared to traditional inputs. Its patented fermentation process converts polyphenol-rich agricultural sidestreams, including pressed grapes, into functional ingredients that enable sugar and sodium reduction and texture optimization.
About Atomic47 Labs
Atomic47 Labs is a Canadian applied AI company helping organizations design, build and commercialize practical AI solutions. With expertise in data infrastructure, digital twins, intelligent automation, agentic AI and industrial process optimization, Atomic47 Labs develops systems that turn complex operational data into actionable intelligence. The company works with partners across sectors to improve productivity, scalability and decision-making through responsible, production-ready AI.
CONTACT: Miranda Burski
Protein Industries Canada
306-581-1340
