MI2 InnoSearch 2026 is open for applications

Applications for MI2's InnoSearch 2026 are open, with finalists taking the stage at the Kentucky Industry Conference this October. Now in its second year, InnoSearch has already produced real results for Kentucky's metals industry, and this year's program is built to do it again. The competition runs through August 18th, with three categories of competition.

The program runs across three showcases, each built for a different point in the innovation process:

Define the Problem is for organizations ready to put a name and a scale on a real industry challenge, whether that's workforce shortages, supply chain disruption, safety, sustainability, or something more technical.

Find the Solutions is for the innovators, startups, and service providers with a technology, process, or partnership that's ready to pilot or scale.

Implement Innovation is for the manufacturers and partners who have already put a solution to work and can show what it actually delivered.

Selected participants from all three tracks present at KYIC, October 13 through 15 at the Central Bank Center in Lexington, in front of an audience of manufacturers, researchers, investors, and industry leaders from across the state. It's a rare setup: real challenges facing real companies, paired on a live stage with the people building real solutions.

For members who joined the 2026 MI2 Innovation Tour back in May, InnoSearch is the next chapter in the same story. The Tour put Kentucky metals manufacturers and solution providers in the same room across Louisville, Northern Kentucky, Bowling Green, and Logan County, creating space for direct, honest conversation about the challenges manufacturers are facing right now. InnoSearch picks up where those conversations left off. Where the Tour opened the door, InnoSearch is where the industry starts walking through it, toward pilots, partnerships, and implementation.

Our 2025 Innovation Search set the bar high. Nucor's River Metals Recycling took home the 2025 Problems win, and Visia won on the Solutions side. Several conversations begun through last year's competition have led to relationships formed and pilots being pursued across Kentucky metals manufacturers, value providers, and research partners.

InnoSearch is a partnership between MI2 and InnoEngine, and KYIC itself is a joint effort of MI2, the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers, and the University of Louisville's Kentucky Manufacturing Extension Partnership. Applications, timelines, and category details are available at innoengine.co/innosearch.