FROM WASTE TO COMMODITY MATERIAL:

Can a Star Trek-like replicator every become a reality? This question was at the heart of the three-year SPRIND Circular Biomanufacturing Challenge. Four teams completed the final stage of the competition, demonstrating that continuous fermentation to develop low-value, high volume commodity materials is a commercially attractive business case. The jury selected EveryCarbon as the winner. The company is developing ECOne™, a polyester designed to replace fossil-based plastics in a range of industrial applications.

Launched in November 2023, the Challenge began with eight teams. The goal was to develop an end-to-end prototype that processes different waste streams into new products through a continuous production process. Teams had to demonstrate how these waste streams could be processed and used as feedstock for single strain microorganisms, maintain continuous fermentation for at least 180 days, and produce at least three different commodity products. The competition ran over three stages, with teams evaluated and selected for further funding based on their progress.

The results underscore how biomanufacturing of commodity materials can already be implemented technically. This Challenge was just the beginning of demonstrating what a commercially viable biomanufacturing process will look like in the not-too-distant future. The long-term goal is to manufacture the majority of bulk products through biomanufacturing processes using locally available raw materials. Achieving this will require processes that can be scaled economically and operated reliably at industrial scale.

For all four teams, the next step is to scale up from pilot plants to industrial production. The SPRIND Challenge has demonstrated that continuous bioproduction over extended periods is technically feasible. Whether these processes can also succeed at industrial scale will depend on further scale-up and commercialization.