Can switching to electric vehicles alone meaningfully reduce dependence on oil? Fossil resources also go into the synthetic fibers in our clothes, the plastics in household goods, and detergents and chemical materials. Oil is both a fuel and a feedstock for making things. Responding to the climate crisis requires changing not only how energy is produced but also how the materials we need are made.
Petrochemicals have been a critical foundation for modern industry. Yet it is difficult to keep expanding a system that continuously consumes fossil resources and emits greenhouse gases during production and disposal. In sectors heavily dependent on imported raw materials, international conflicts and logistics disruptions also threaten output. A new production route is needed that can supply essential materials reliably while cutting carbon emissions.
One alternative is biomanufacturing, which uses living organisms to produce materials. We already eat and use the products of biomanufacturing. MSG, a widely used seasoning, is made by processing glutamic acid produced through microbial fermentation. A microorganism called Corynebacterium glutamicum is a key producer. Microbes do more than ferment kimchi and doenjang; they serve as small factories turning out ingredients that industry needs.
I studied in the laboratory of KAIST professor Lee Sang-yup, a pioneer of systems metabolic engineering, and then worked at CJ, a large conglomerate, and GF Fermentech, a small and medium-sized company. I now lead SilicoBio, a synthetic biology-based precision fermentation company that I co-founded with Professor Lee.
Microbes take in nutrients and convert them into a variety of substances. By designing and adjusting these reaction pathways, it is possible to increase output of a desired compound or make the organism produce an entirely new one. Synthetic biology is the technology for engineering and improving the functions of living organisms. Precision fermentation applies that technology to produce specific substances using microbes. The targets of biomanufacturing range beyond pharmaceuticals to amino acids and nucleic acids, vitamins and enzymes, pigments and flavorings, and even some biodegradable plastic materials.
The ability to control the production environment matters as well. Managing the temperature, acidity and nutrient supply in a fermenter reduces output swings caused by seasons and outside weather. Securing the option to produce certain critical materials domestically also helps in responding to supply chain shocks.
Countries are building the groundwork to turn this potential into industry. BioMADE, the U.S. biomanufacturing innovation institute, announced in August 2025 a plan to build a shared-use demonstration facility in Iowa with total project costs of $40 million. BioMADE will provide at least $20 million, the state government $10 million, and a university will contribute up to $10 million worth. The facility will house fermenters of up to 10,000 liters along with separation and purification processes, and is scheduled to open in early 2028. Separately, in April of this year, BioMADE announced $21.4 million in investment across 14 projects.
In Europe, the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant in Belgium bridges the laboratory and industrial production. Grown with support from the European Union and regional governments, this independent demonstration facility now supports fermentation and separation and purification at scales of up to 75,000 liters. It provides both equipment and experts so that companies can validate production processes before building their own plants.
China is moving as well. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the National Development and Reform Commission last year announced a plan to foster biomanufacturing demonstration platforms. At the regional level, policy is translating into operating facilities. The Changde Economic and Technological Development Zone in Hunan province disclosed in July of this year the operating status of a synthetic biology demonstration base with total investment of 169 million yuan. The facility has fermentation and downstream processing and supports trial production by companies. Shenzhen also wrote support for building demonstration platforms and validating processes into policy in April of this year.
The Indian government in March of this year introduced a shared framework for 15 bio support facilities that startups and small and medium-sized companies can use. In April it laid out research solicitations for scaling up production, the construction of biomanufacturing hubs, and a cooperation framework with state governments. What countries are focusing on is the intermediate stage where companies validate whether production is feasible.
The comparison covers the number of microbial food companies, production facilities and contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) by region, along with the ratio of facilities and CDMOs to the total number of companies. It is not a comparison of investment amounts or fermenter capacity.
This stage matters because success in the laboratory does not guarantee success in the factory. A microbe that performs well in a small culture device can behave differently once the fermenter grows larger, because conditions such as how oxygen and nutrients are delivered and how heat escapes change. How efficiently the resulting substance is separated and purified also determines cost. That is why the economics of a business cannot be judged from published yields alone.
Pilot demonstration is therefore necessary. Productivity and process stability must be confirmed at intermediate scales such as several hundred liters, and separation and purification must be tested as well. On that basis, production costs at commercial scale can be estimated and investment decisions made. Environmental performance must also be assessed with the origin of feedstocks, energy use and downstream processing all taken into account. The economic and environmental value of biomanufacturing has to be proven with real data.
Korea also put a synthetic biology promotion act into effect in April of this year and is pushing to build a public biofoundry. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has announced plans to support public manufacturing infrastructure. But the country needs both a research base that accelerates microbial development and a demonstration base where startups can verify productivity. From what I have seen while pursuing commercialization, there is currently no public demonstration infrastructure in Korea where precision fermentation startups can validate everything from scaling up fermentation of genetically modified microbes to separation and purification. The intermediate stage that would connect research results to industry is empty.
Demonstration is required to attract investment, but without investment it is hard to secure demonstration facilities. Under that structure, even startups with good technology struggle to clear the threshold for growth. That is why government seed funding is needed. The central government and local governments should build shared-use demonstration facilities and, along with them, put in place process experts, operating budgets and support for user fees for early-stage companies. They need to open a growth path so companies can prove economic viability with production data and move on to private investment and commercial production.
Turning the circular use of feedstocks and byproducts into actual production requires pilot and demonstration facilities, purpose-built manufacturing plants, digital quality control, low-carbon infrastructure and public-private cooperation.
In meetings with officials from various local governments, what I have found is demand to grow biomanufacturing into a new regional industry. On Sept. 10, at the Gyeongbuk Bio Industry Expo, North Gyeongsang Province, the city of Andong and KAIST signed a memorandum of understanding to foster precision fermentation-based bio and food tech industries. It is a starting point for linking research capabilities with the regional industrial base and moving toward trial production and commercialization.
Responding to the climate crisis and achieving material independence requires investing not only in technology development but also in the foundation that connects that technology to production. Public demonstration infrastructure is an essential condition for the growth and industrialization of precision fermentation startups. I hope this collaboration leads to facility construction and sustained operating support. When government seed funding gives rise to an ecosystem running from corporate demonstration to private investment and commercial production, biomanufacturing can become a new source of competitiveness for Korea.
He is...
B.S., M.S., Ph.D. and postdoctoral researcher in chemical and biomolecular engineering, KAIST (adviser: Lee Sang-yup)
Former senior researcher, CJ CheilJedang Bio Technology Research Institute
Former head of Korea R&D, PhAST Diagnostics
Former director of the research institute, GF Fermentech
Currently CEO of SilicoBio and research associate professor at the KAIST Bioprocess Engineering Research Center
