We are one step closer to the era of “biomanufacturing,” in which chemical products are produced using microorganisms rather than oil. The KAIST research team analyzed the key challenges limiting the commercialization of biomanufacturing and proposed an AI-powered industrialization strategy.
KAIST (Chairman Bae Choong-sik) announced on July 14 that a research team led by Distinguished Professor Lee Sang-yeop of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering has comprehensively analyzed the major bottlenecks to the commercialization of biomanufacturing and proposed an industrialization strategy to address them and a roadmap for future growth.
Most chemical products today, such as plastics, textiles, and pharmaceutical raw materials, are produced from petroleum. However, as concerns about carbon emissions and environmental pollution increase, biomanufacturing, which uses microorganisms to produce chemicals, is attracting attention as a next-generation manufacturing technology. Still, scaling up technologies developed in the lab to economically viable mass production in real factories remains a major challenge.
Systems metabolic engineering is a core technology in biomanufacturing, designing and optimizing the metabolic pathways of microorganisms and building “microbial cell factories” that produce desired chemicals. However, technologies that demonstrate high productivity in the laboratory often perform poorly when transferred to industrial environments, resulting in lower productivity, higher production costs, many fail to achieve price competitiveness, and ultimately fail to commercialize.
The research team analyzed the bio-based chemical raw material succinic acid and the biodegradable plastic polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) as prime examples of this gap between the lab and industry, often referred to as the “valley of death.”
Succinic acid is an important raw material for producing environmentally friendly plastics and various chemical materials. The research team explained that for succinic acid to compete with existing petrochemical products, competitiveness requires comprehensive consideration of not only production volume, but also raw materials, separation and purification costs, fermentation processes, market size, etc. The team also suggested that a step-by-step strategy of first entering high-value markets such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and food ingredients could be a practical solution.
PHA is a biodegradable plastic that has been accumulated by microorganisms within its cells, and is an environmentally friendly material that naturally decomposes in the environment after use. However, PHA is currently less price competitive than traditional plastics due to high production and recovery costs, and its unique material properties pose another barrier. The typical polymer P(3HB) is highly crystalline, becomes brittle with age, and has a narrow range between melting and decomposition temperatures, making PHA generally unsuitable as a direct “drop-in” replacement. The team found that a phased approach was needed. That is, simplify the production process and apply it first. It is targeting high-value areas such as medical applications and food packaging before expanding into general-purpose markets.
The research team predicted that artificial intelligence will be the key to the industrialization of biomanufacturing in the future. AI can optimize the entire biomanufacturing process, from the design of enzymes and microorganisms, to digital twins that virtually simulate the production process, to technologies that simultaneously analyze economic feasibility and environmental impact. The team explained that this will shorten development timelines, lower production costs, and increase the likelihood of successful commercialization.
The research team also suggested that techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) should be applied as design criteria from the early stages of research, rather than as assessments that are only done after the research is completed. The research team further emphasized that supply chain resilience, taking into account raw material availability and changing international conditions, should be considered as new design criteria for biomanufacturing.
This research is not just about developing a new production technology, but is meaningful because it comprehensively analyzes the conditions for successful industrialization of biomanufacturing and presents an industrialization roadmap that spans the entire cycle from securing raw materials to microbial design, fermentation, separation and purification, and market entry. The research team hopes that this work will accelerate the commercialization of the bio-based chemical industry and, in the long term, contribute to the transition of the oil-based chemical industry to an environmentally friendly bioeconomy.
The co-lead authors of this paper are Ji Yeon Kim and Hye Eun Yu, both of whom have Ph.D. The presentations by candidates from KAIST’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering were published online in an international journal on May 30th. nature communications.
sauce:
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
Reference magazines:
Kim, J.Y. Others. (2026) Beyond petrochemistry: Challenges and opportunities in industrial-scale biomanufacturing. Nature Communications. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-73835-1. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-73835-1
