How will you exercise your right to a clean and healthy environment? It’s unacceptable not to know or not care! The path to a sustainable future may look different for different people. Will it employ microbial breweries over petroleum refineries—decentralizing manufacturing that can adapt quickly to changing market needs—or will it involve creating resource sufficiency through access, rather than ownership, of high-quality products that are easy to repair with life-centered design? Not just silver bullets, but all cross-sector cross-value chain solutions underscoring systems thinking are welcome to solve the planetary crisis.
Under the umbrella of modern medicine, biotechnology has always seemed a little mysterious to end users. However, recent advances in fermentation, culturing, and engineering microorganisms and natural polymers are ushering in a new paradigm of biomolecular materials with brand-new functional and aesthetic properties. The ground-up, modular approach is less energy-intensive and fully customizable. It provides a versatile backdrop for growing fascinating bio-designed products from food to clothes to furniture, which has sparked a new appreciation for life sciences. With digital fusion, the biomanufacturing revolution is gaining momentum and is ready to disrupt new industries with high throughput, precision, and speed to market.
RETHINK, REASSESS, AND REDESIGN WITH GREEN AND BLUE BUILDING BLOCKS
The pandemic exposed severe challenges of traditional production methods, amplifying the dire need for green chemistry, feedstock diversification, and local manufacturing to establish regenerative and transparent supply chains. Gone are the days of growing cotton in big fields or producing cement in kilns; welcome to the new era of grown functional materials and the unlocked power of distributed, agile production. Utilizing cells instead of plants to grow cotton can make it a resource-efficient fiber that can be grown anywhere in only 18 days without relying on the cultivable soil and weather, inaugurating the wave of cellular agriculture. In the quest toward net zero carbon cities, the construction industry is actively decarbonizing concrete manufacturing by using microorganisms and captured carbon to form structural cement for self-healing buildings, thus reducing its colossal environmental footprint.
Given the rising concerns over biodiversity and forestation, the industry has started exploring aquatic organisms for carbon sequestration solutions that are more effective and scalable. Algae has quickly become the cornerstone resource that can reduce atmospheric carbon and provide health benefits. Through genetic engineering, microalgae can provide a molecular makeover to many plastics—including polyurethane—to design bespoke formulations for mattresses, shoes, and sports gear while raising the renewable content to 100%.
The disposable world of single-use plastics in packaging has shown immense potential for employing biotechnology to bring us closer to waste-free, programmable product experiences. A category-defining demonstration is the spider-inspired plant protein-based material platform. It exploits protein’s natural ability to self-assemble into strong but flexible structures that can replace sachets and polybags. These plant-derived alternatives combine the processability of synthetic polymers with natural decomposition and can close the biological cycle without compromising process comfort and convenience.
DE-/RE-CARBONIZATION THROUGH VALORIZING GLOBAL ORGANIC WASTE STREAMS
Turning ubiquitous carbon-rich waste streams into an asset and bringing their value to other industries, communities, and their surroundings have been a pivotal approach to achieving resource maximization. As a result, many companies are developing systems to turn municipal biosolids or industrial sludge into renewable energy and biochar that locks up the biogenic carbon in organics.
Moving downstream, what if we could recycle carbon emissions that would otherwise be emitted as pollution into vodka, clothing, or car parts? Engineered microbes acting as tiny powerful factories can convert carbon emissions from the atmosphere or gasified agricultural, urban, and industrial waste into fuels and chemicals to make consumer products. Achieving carbon-negative production at an industrial scale while locking carbon into soil and feedstock would be a profitable pathway to creating local autonomy for different industries.
BIO-DETOXIFYING PRODUCTS, PROCESSES, AND SURROUNDINGS
Our skin’s microbiome constantly reflects its environment and is an alive support system. Applying probiotics to fabrics can help reduce body odor when placed selectively in areas prone to sweating. Taking physical well-being to the next level are the exclusive garment designs coated with a living layer of photosynthetic microorganisms that can neutralize harmful aerial pollutants through daily wear—imagine them as your invisible wearable air purifiers! These textiles’ live quality helps build an intimate emotional connection with your garments while making you rethink their care and wear routine. Can such living designs act as a new psychological catalyst for switching consumer behavior toward conscience consumption by extending their lifecycle?
New super-efficient enzymes and fungi strains are being synthesized to recycle high-value plastics and effectively neutralize PAHs, phthalates, and forever chemicals like PFAS in numerous everyday objects, thus decontaminating various legacy industrial activities and supporting circularity. Organism engineering has also enabled clean, traceable, and responsible supply chains for copper, gold, and rare earth minerals extracted from emerging electronic waste streams to convert cities into urban mines.
ETHICAL ALTERATION AND EMPOWERED PARTICIPATION
According to reports published earlier this year, the growing bio-economy could be worth $30 trillion globally. Although, a bio-derived or assisted product doesn’t automatically imply it is a sustainable choice or justify its overproduction. Understanding ethical, environmental, economic, and social consequences of any organism alternation are paramount to restoring the entire carbon cycle and avoiding creating new or choosing the lesser evil. Meanwhile, strategic partnerships, investments, standardized regulatory frameworks, and a new curriculum are needed to equip tomorrow’s innovators and workforce with the fitting tool kit to design safe, automated, and integrated approaches to biomanufacturing at scale.
CO-CREATING HUMAN, NATURE, AND TECHNOLOGY SYMBIOSIS
I believe resourceful, locally optimized bioengineered models can fortify relationships between citizens, products, and surroundings to mobilize resilient, just economies. We are just getting started, but I trust the ability of biotechnology to amend existing engineered materials like metals, plastics, and composites while innovating from below. Let’s innovate with purpose and invest in our renewable material resources that can course correct along the way while co-creating a healthy, thriving ecosystem.
VP of Research at Material ConneXion