Biotech capabilities are set to rise with the help of digital technology

Bacteria and fungi have long been natural aids in the production of delicious food, drink and medicine, but new digital technologies could open up huge opportunities for Europe’s biotech sector.

Beer may not be the answer to all of life’s problems, but the science behind it can help decarbonize industrial processes and clean up the environment.

Biotechnology, which uses living organisms to create different products or processes, remains important in today’s food and beverage production. But it is also increasingly used for many industrial products, including medicine, where it combines ancient principles with modern technology.

Ancient wisdom, modern methods

“We have used biotechnology for thousands of years to make cheese, to make beer, to make wine,” said Michael O’Donohue, an expert in microbial enzymes and industrial biotechnology at France’s National Agricultural Research Institute. , Food and Environment (INRAE). ).

Now O’Donohue, who is leading an EU-funded project called Bioindustry 4.0, along with a team of biotechnologists from 10 European countries, are exploring whether the same principles of how biotechnology can be used to produce chemicals or treat industrial wastes in very small quantities. environmental impact than traditional methods.

“We don’t work with processes that operate in aggressive environments like, for example, the chemical industry,” said O’Donohue, highlighting a major advantage of biotech.

Small workhorses

Biotech has changed our lives, more than improving the taste of beer. Modern progress began with the use of fungi in the early 20th century to make life-saving antibiotics. Today, biotech is still important for making medicine.

As O’Donohue explained, “the workhorses of biotechnology at the industrial level are mainly yeast and filamentous fungi.”

But because the yeast can be unpredictable which ingredient, and how much it produces, Bioindustry 4.0, which runs until December 2026, will use digital technology to improve the consistency of biotech results.

The main point of biotechnology is that it can provide a cleaner alternative to traditional chemical manufacturing.

While many industrial processes require high temperatures and harmful chemicals, in biotechnology, most cells live between 30°C and 40°C, enjoy mild pH conditions, thrive in water-based, and does not produce harmful or toxic substances.

This theory has been proven. European companies are using natural methods to produce color pigments and replace chemical dyes, which can help reduce the high water consumption of the textile sector.

Biotech companies can also produce fuels and useful chemicals from agricultural waste or even from waste gas produced by industrial plants.

To reduce inconsistency

But the use cases are limited because yeast, fungi and bacteria, unlike synthetic chemicals, can behave in unpredictable ways and that is not enough for most of the industry. the latter, where compatibility is important.

“We’re talking about industrial processes, so the name of the game is always cost, efficiency and reproducibility,” said O’Donohue. “We want the same results every time we run a bioprocess. This is what happens, for example, in car manufacturing.”

Bioindustry 4.0 aims to correct this deficiency by using digital technology. O’Donohue said: “It’s a challenge to bring these two technologies together, but it’s also a huge opportunity for biotechnology to move faster.”

Some of the research partners, for example, are developing real-time sensors to be installed in bioreactors, where organisms are grown in a suspended solution. Sensors can monitor microbial growth and compound production and alert researchers if they need to intervene, for example, by adding more sugar.

To play the game

Biotech is a major global industry worth €720 billion in 2021, but Europe currently lags behind the US The European Commission describes biotechnology as “one of the most promising technological areas of this century” and has taken steps to strengthen it in Europe.

“The US is a big player. They take 60% of the cake,” said O’Donohue. “We’ve noticed a few gaps in Europe for biotechnology. We have a fragmented space, which makes it tricky, if you’re developing biotechnology, to know what’s available and where.”

Still, O’Donohue said, the potential is there. “Europe was the birthplace of modern biotechnology. We have a lot of infrastructure. We have a lot of knowledge.”

Bioindustry 4.0 is based on the work of PREP-IBISBA, another project funded by the EU, which continued until the end of 2023 and aims to reduce the sharing of research services for industrial biotechnology.

The project team has developed IBISBA, a basic research concept that allows access to high-quality services to test, for example, the correct content of new materials produced by microorganisms.

By logging into IBISBA, researchers can be quickly guided to relevant knowledge or resources.

Building a market

This idea is already working, helping small European companies like Calidris Bio, a Belgian start-up that aims to make high-quality proteins using limited resources.

“We want to bring it to the market as an ingredient to replace fish and soy that are currently not grown sustainably,” said Lieve Hoflack, co-founder of Calidris Bio.

But producing protein is only half the battle. A new product must be tested for safety, taste and nutritional value.

“With IBISBA, we have found a place with the right tools, the right knowledge and the right attitude to bring our operations to the next level,” said Hoflack.

The European Commission has said it intends to boost biotechnology to fight climate change and resource scarcity. It works in accordance with the EU Biotech Law and aims to encourage regulatory sandboxes to test new methods in a controlled environment for a limited time, under regulatory control.

It will also work on diffusion regulations and create an EU Biotech Hub to help companies navigate regulatory waters and provide support to grow their businesses.

O’Donohue said: “We need to help European science stay in the race and help our innovators get support, especially during their early stages.”