As the world grapples with the urgent challenges of climate change and supply chain disruptions, bio-manufacturing is emerging as a critical solution for creating a more sustainable and resilient economy. Noah Helman, co-founder and CEO of Industrial Microbes (iMicrobes), shared his insights on this transformative technology in a recent episode of the Manufacturing Executive Podcast.

Helman’s journey into bio-manufacturing began with a realization: “As biological organisms in our environment, that’s a natural way for us to interact with the world. And there’s so much that we can do to make a healthier planet and a more efficient economy by leveraging these amazing tools that biology has to offer.”

At iMicrobes, Helman and his team are on a mission to accelerate the transition to a circular economy by converting renewable resources, such as ethanol, into chemicals traditionally derived from petroleum. Their goal is to achieve net zero emissions while remaining cost-competitive with existing methods.

“Everybody wants to have a sustainable product at the same price,” Helman explained. “It’s a no-brainer if you offer it that way, right?… So it’s kind of a no-brainer. And the question is like, how do we get there, right? What if we could make that happen? What would the world look like? What is really the dream scenario that we should go for?”

Beyond environmental benefits, Helman emphasized the importance of bio-manufacturing for national security. Recent supply chain disruptions, from the COVID-19 pandemic to geopolitical tensions, have underscored the need for secure, domestic sources of critical chemicals and materials.

It is critical for national security, for climate change, to have secure supply chains here in the US that are completely controllable with domestic resources. Bio-manufacturing is going to play a key role in that for a variety of reasons. We have the ability to diversify our scope of possible feedstocks beyond oil and gas to things that include agricultural products like ethanol and waste as well.

Scaling up bio-manufacturing to achieve cost parity with traditional methods remains a challenge, but Helman believes that collaborating across the value chain and engaging early adopters will be key to crossing the “valley of death” and driving widespread adoption. He also highlighted the role of strategic partnerships, such as with the BioMade organization, in providing industry expertise and de-risking the commercialization process.

Ultimately, Helman called on manufacturers to prioritize sustainability in pragmatic terms and support innovative technologies that can deliver cost-competitive, low-carbon solutions.

“Try to understand, and the customers that you have, the people who buy from you, will they pay more for a sustainable product or a product that has net zero emissions?” he urged. “If legitimately that creates value for you, please help us by writing that down on a piece of paper. It can create real value for us, but it actually creates a lot of value for you as well. You can become a first mover in your space to be connected to the concept of having a more sustainable product.”

As the manufacturing industry confronts the immense challenges and opportunities of the 21st century, visionaries like Noah Helman and the team at iMicrobes are charting a path toward a more sustainable and prosperous future – one built on the power of biology to transform our economy and our world.

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