Abstract
Dear Colleagues:
This 10th anniversary year of Industrial Biotechnology (IB) provides an opportunity to pause and reflect on the progress of our industry. The landscape for innovation can change very dramatically over a 10-year period as a result of major scientific and technological breakthroughs, changing market conditions, a rapidly changing policy landscape, and fundamental shifts in societal needs. Chronicling the scientific and technological breakthroughs that are at the core of industrial biotechnology development has always been part of IB's larger mission. In our first volume, we published a Featured Contribution by Marvin Frazier and J. Craig Venter entitled, “Harnessing the Power of Genomics for Energy and the Environment” (2005;1(1):6–8). The take home message of that feature was that genomics, synthetic biology, and other cutting-edge life science explorations and technology development activities would drive innovation to address energy, environmental, and other global challenges. This message is still a strong one for our industry today, as we continue to work the science, energy, and environment nexuses.
Working the energy, environment, and policy nexuses is the underlying theme of the IB INSIGHTS “Special Report” in this issue of IB entitled, “Estimating GHG Emissions from Proposed Changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard through 2022,” from our Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) colleagues Brent Erickson, Matt Carr, and Paul Winters. Since 2005, the US Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has been a strong policy driver for biofuels development in this country. However, recent developments in energy supplies and markets have prompted proposed rule changes at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that would reduce biofuel use in 2014 relative to 2013. Our BIO colleagues analyzed the impact of these rule changes on 2014 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions using Argonne National Laboratory's Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) Model. This model is one of several life cycle analysis (LCA) tools used to assess the sustainability of renewable and non-renewable energy technologies. LCA continues to be one of the major “lenses” through which we assess bioenergy and bioproducts development and deployment. Whether it is the sustainable production of algae for making biodiesel or the production of monomers for green plastics, these industrial biotechnology opportunities are being subjected to LCA methods to assess their economic and environmental sustainability. It is important that we participate in these LCA efforts through our use of LCA tools in our technology development activities, and by critiquing the underlying assumptions and data that are at the core of these efforts.
Although bioenergy has been a major driver of industrial biotechnology innovation and deployment over the past 10 years, our shared vision has always been much broader. In recent years, a number of exciting opportunities to deploy biotechnology for green chemistry and biobased products, agriculture and food production, and environmental remediation have emerged. Over the years we have sought to remind our readers of the broader reach of industrial biotechnology through original research articles and featured commentaries like Bill Caesar's article, “Industrial Biotechnology: More Than Just Ethanol–Factors Driving Industry Growth” (2008;4(1):50–54) or Manfred Kircher's article, “Biotechnology Pushes Greening the Chemical Industry: Biomass Transformation the Most Relevant Driver of Industrial Biotechnology; Clusters Key in Germany, Europe” (2011;7(2):122–126).
In this issue of IB, we have several contributions that focus on biobased product development and deployment. The first of two Catalyzing Innovation features is from Edward Sawicki, The Procter & Gamble Company. He provides us with an exciting story on how The Coca-Cola Company, Ford Motor Company, H. J. Heinz Company, Nike, Inc., and The Procter & Gamble Company have come together to work collaboratively to advance and scale-up bio-polyethylene terephthalate (PET) technology through the Plant PET Technology Collaborative (PTC). Given the scale of the challenges in ramping up this technology and the companies' “dissatisfaction with the current approaches,” the need arose for a new business model to develop this opportunity. In essence, how do you develop an innovation ecology around the capabilities and needs of different corporate cultures that occupy very different market niches but all require a shared biobased product. In many ways this is an example of industrial ecology with different species, i.e., companies working symbiotically to develop and utilize an important metabolite. In addition to sharing with us a model for technology innovation, the PTC Collaborative has provided our readers with a critical assessment of the state of PET technology in the review article entitled, “Biobased Terephthalic Acid Technologies: A Literature Review.” The list of coauthors reflects the commitment of all five companies to work collaboratively on this challenging opportunity. Also, the fact that the authors were able to obtain timely publication authorization from the upper management of their respective companies also speaks strongly to the companies' commitment to this collaborative venture.
The interest in biobased materials and chemicals is global and is playing out in diverse ways around the world. In our second Catalyzing Innovation feature we introduced our readers to the current status of the biodegradable plastics market in China. This article, authored by Yunxuan Weng, Yingxin Zhou, and Min Zhang, Beijing Technology & Business University, and Secretary-General of China Degradable Plastic Committee of CPPIA, identifies some of the specific opportunities for poly-lactic acid (PLA) and hydroxyalkanoates (PHA) production in China. In addition, this article identifies tradeoffs in producing these compounds using renewable resources, such as starches, sugars, and other biomass materials, versus from fossil fuels. The authors also provide us with a comprehensive picture of the major industrial players that are driving the different pathways to PLA, PHA, and other biodegradable polymers.
The Industry Reports section of IB this month also highlights the global dimension of the biobased materials sector and the drivers shaping the commercialization and landscape of industrial biobased chemicals. The Industry Report entitled, “Cultivating Capacity for Biobased Materials and Chemicals through 2017,” by Julia Allen, Lux Research, Inc., offers a clear and succinct summary of a more comprehensive report on the “growth trends and commercialization successes” that are emerging in the global biobased materials and chemicals sector. These contributions highlight the need for careful navigation of the technology, markets, and policy nexuses that are driving industrial biotechnology development and deployment.
Biobased lubricants continue to be another important opportunity for industrial biotechnology, and to help us understand the energy and environmental nexus of this sector we have a Commentary from Dr. Bhima Vijayendran, Redwood Innovation Partners and Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center (OBIC). Dr. Vijayendran is a long-time champion of biobased lubricants and materials and is a very active partner in OBIC. OBIC seeks to exploit regional resources and talent to drive technological innovation and to develop new biobased material markets. In his commentary entitled, “Biobased Motor Oils Are Ready for Primetime,” he reminds us that the continued interest and markets for biobased lubricants is driven by environmental needs, such as their bio-degradability; however, the price and performance nexus has to be carefully navigated in today's markets.
Consumer acceptance of biobased materials and chemicals is a key factor in driving market demand. Price and performance tradeoffs, when they exist, are generally foremost on consumers' minds. However, market surveys routinely show that consumers are willing, to some extent, to pay a “green premium.” How much of a premium depends on a number of factors, as explained by Michael Carus, Asta Eder, and Janpeter Bechmann of nova-Institute in their article, “GreenPremium Prices Along the Value Chain of Biobased Products.” In this Industry Report, the authors provide answers to some important questions that help to inform our understanding of the extra price the consumer is willing to pay. Some of the key questions include: Are GreenPremium prices really paid by the Market?; In which markets are GreenPremium prices being paid?; and Who pays the extra price? Answers to these and other questions addressed by the authors are essential to understanding the technology, market, and environmental nexuses of the global biobased economy.
In addition to our feature articles we share with our readers five original research articles that reflect the breadth of the industrial biotechnology research space. I have already mentioned the review article that was authored by the PCT collaborative, in which Collias et al. focus on assessing the various technology pathways for converting carbohydrates and lignin to terephthalic acid. This comprehensive and critical assessment of these technology pathways should be of strong interest to our readers. D-ribose production from glucose-xylose mixtures by an engineered strain of Escherichia coli is the focus of a study by Pratish Gawand and Radhakrishnan Mahadevan, University of Toronto, Canada. D-ribose is a naturally produced pentose sugar that is used as a sweetener and nutritional supplement, and is an important metabolite for the synthesis of riboflavin. The authors report on their successful effort to boost D-ribose yield by inserting genes for two phosphatases into wild and mutant E. coli strains.
Filtering bioenergy pathways through economic performance is at the core of a study authored by James D. Stephen and Warren E. Mabee, Queen's Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy, School of Policy Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada, and Jack N. Saddler, Department of Wood Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. These authors use an internal rate of return (IRR) model to assess cellulosic ethanol production from forest resources relative to other bioenergy options such as combined heat and Fischer-Tropsch liquids (biomass-to-liquids). From reports published in IB and other journals we know that biomass feedstock resources and inventory will evolve in tandem with market pull associated with different products and technology pathways. This report by our Canadian colleagues helps us understand the economic tradeoffs with various bioenergy or biomaterial options. These options for utilizing biomass also play out in the pulp and paper industry, and this issue of IB includes a piece on the use of oxalate decarboxylases in industrial bleaching. This research article by Winestrand and colleagues reports on the outcome of an enzyme discovery and assessment study focused on reducing the scaling problems associated with the presence of calcium oxalate in pulp and paper operations. Finding biotechnological solutions to established industrial problems is very much within the scope of our journal. Another case in point is the article by Brazilian colleagues, Dias et al, on the use of a supplement for cultivating the mushroom Agaricus subrufescens on compost. Composting is an old and familiar biotechnology that is still very important in waste management, plant pathogen control, and mushroom production applications. All of these original research articles speak to the ability of our community to deploy life sciences and biotechnology to address old and new research and development challenges.
Over the past 10 years, our community has been successful in navigating the nexuses of science, technology, markets, policy, and the environment to generate viable technologies and solutions for the global bioeconomy. Yes, we occasionally have to back-track to stay on mission, however, this is a necessary result of negotiating these nexuses. I strongly believe that 10 years from now the industrial biotechnology community will look back and note a whole new set of contributions and successes that have come from our efforts. It is our goal at IB to continue to chronicle this very exciting journey of exploration and development.