Microorganisms and fungi have long been nature's aid in producing high-quality food, beverages and medicines, but new digital technologies could offer even greater potential for Europe's biotech sector.
Anthony King
Beer may not be the answer to all of life's problems, but the science behind it could help decarbonize industrial processes and clean up the environment.
Biotechnology, the use of living organisms to create a wide range of products and processes, still plays a vital role in food and beverage production today, but it is also increasingly being used to create a wide range of industrial products, including pharmaceuticals, combining ancient principles with cutting-edge technology.
Ancient wisdom, modern processes
“We've been using biotechnology for thousands of years to make cheese, beer and wine,” said Michael O'Donoghue, an expert in microbial enzymes and industrial biotechnology at France's National Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE).
Now O'Donoghue, who heads an EU-funded project called Bioindustry 4.0, is working with a team of biotech experts from 10 European countries to explore how the same biotech principles can be used to make chemicals and clean up industrial waste with much less environmental impact than traditional methods.
“We're not dealing with processes that operate in harsh environments, like, say, the chemical industry,” O'Donoghue said, highlighting biotechnology's big positives.
Little Hard Worker
Biotechnology is already changing our lives beyond just improving the taste of beer. Modern advances began in the early 20th century with the harnessing of fungi to create life-saving antibiotics, and today biotechnology remains essential to the production of medicines.
“At an industrial level, the workhorses of biotechnology are primarily yeast and filamentous fungi,” O'Donoghue explained.
But because it's impossible to predict what compounds yeast will produce and how much of them they will produce, Bioindustry 4.0, which runs until December 2026, will use digital techniques to improve the consistency of biotech outcomes.
The advantage of biotechnology is that it offers a cleaner alternative to traditional chemical production.
Many industrial processes require high temperatures and dangerous chemicals, but in biotechnology, most cells survive between 30°C and 40°C, prefer mild pH conditions, thrive in water-based liquids, and do not produce dangerous or toxic substances.
The concept is already proven: European companies are producing pigments through natural processes instead of chemical colorants, helping to reduce the textile industry's enormous water use.
Biotechnology companies can also produce fuels and useful chemicals from agricultural waste and factory emissions.
Limiting contradictions
But because yeast, fungi and bacteria, unlike synthetic chemicals, can behave in unexpected ways, their use cases are limited and insufficient for many modern industries where consistency is key.
“We're talking about industrial processes, so it's always about cost, efficiency and repeatability,” O'Donoghue says. “You want the same results every time you run a bioprocess. That's what happens in car manufacturing, for example.”
Bioindustry 4.0 aims to address this shortcoming through the use of digital technologies. “Bringing these two together is a challenge, but it also represents a huge opportunity to accelerate progress in biotechnology,” O'Donoghue said.
For example, some research partners are developing real-time sensors to attach to bioreactors, where microbes are grown in suspension in solution. The sensors can track the microbial growth and compound production and alert researchers when interventions, such as adding more sugar, are needed.
catch up
Biotechnology is a major global industry worth €720 billion in 2021, but Europe currently lags behind the U.S. The European Commission has described biotechnology as “one of the most promising technological fields of this century” and is taking steps to boost biotech in Europe.
“The US is a big player. They have a 60% share,” O'Donoghue said. “We have seen some weaknesses in Europe when it comes to biotechnology. Our situation is fragmented and if you want to develop biotechnology it is very difficult to know what is available and where.”
Still, the potential is there, says O'Donoghue: “Europe is the birthplace of modern biotechnology. We have a lot of infrastructure. We have a lot of expertise.”
Bioindustry 4.0 builds on the work of PREP-IBISBA, another EU-funded project running until the end of 2023, which aimed to facilitate the process of sharing research facilities in industrial biotechnology.
The project team created IBISBA, a research infrastructure concept that allows access to state-of-the-art facilities to test the exact content of new materials produced by microorganisms, for example.
With IBISBA, researchers are quickly directed to the right expertise and equipment.
Building the market
The concept is already in use and is helping young European companies such as Belgian start-up Kalidris Bio, which aims to produce higher quality proteins using fewer resources.
“We want to bring this to market as an alternative to fishmeal and soy, which at the moment are not grown sustainably,” said Reeve Hoflak, co-founder of Kalidris Bio.
But producing the protein is only half the battle: new products must also be tested for safety, taste and nutritional value.
“IBISBA helped us find a place with the right equipment, the right expertise and the right mindset to take the next step in the process,” Hoflack said.
The European Commission says it aims to promote biotechnology to combat climate change and resource scarcity. It is working towards an EU biotechnology law and aims to promote regulatory sandboxes to test new approaches in controlled environments for limited periods under regulatory oversight.
We will also work to simplify regulations and establish an EU biotech hub to help companies navigate the regulatory waters and get the support they need to expand their businesses.
“We need to help European science stay competitive and ensure innovators are supported, especially when taking their first steps,” O'Donoghue said.
Research for this article was funded by the EU's Horizon programme. The opinions of the interviewees do not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission. This article was originally published in Horizon, the EU research and innovation journal.
