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NSF and BioMADE partner to support bioindustrial manufacturing

The U.S. National Science Foundation Directorates for Engineering and for Biological Sciences have partnered with BioMADE, which is funded by the U.S. Department of War, to co-fund seven integrated projects that will advance the manufacturing of innovative bio-based products using state-of-the-art methodologies.

NSF and BioMADE have complementary roles in supporting biomanufacturing research at different manufacturing readiness levels. NSF-funded projects typically focus on early stages, from basic research to proof of concept. BioMADE, one of the Manufacturing Innovation Institutes established under the auspices of the Manufacturing USA program, typically supports projects that transition manufacturing technologies from laboratory demonstration to implementation in an environment representative of production. The partnership between NSF and BioMADE provides a mechanism to fund projects that span multiple research stages, with NSF supporting basic studies and BioMADE funding research that is closer to commercialization.

"This NSF-BioMADE collaboration gives U.S. researchers an opportunity to more directly support biotechnology commercialization efforts at early-stage companies, and it provides new and important research questions that will advance biotechnology innovation," said NSF Directorate for Engineering Program Director Steven Peretti.

"The partnership with BioMADE allows NSF-funded university investigators to incorporate translational research principles into their basic investigations, thus building synergy that can accelerate growth and success for the marketplace," said NSF Directorate for Biological Sciences Program Director David Rockcliffe.

The new projects will focus on advanced biomanufacturing methods for a range of materials, leveraging breakthrough technologies like artificial intelligence, advanced sensors and new purification systems. As the U.S. competes for global leadership in this growing industry, the new projects will move the needle by scaling up production of needed products and improving processes that span the industry.

The seven new awards are:

Development and Systems Characterization of Completely Synthetic Cell Culture Media enabled by VHH Growth Factor Alternatives. Led by Duke University, this project will develop scalable, low-cost manufacturing methods for next-generation media additives that could produce diagnostics and countermeasures for new disease outbreaks to protect both warfighters around the world and everyday Americans.

Development of Genomic Language Models to Predict Optimal Genomes for Commercial Protein Production. Led by UC Berkeley, this project will create a first-of-its-kind predictive AI model that will accelerate strain optimization for the production of resilient and cost-effective proteins capable of wound healing, advanced nutrition, chemical defense or producing other defense-relevant compounds.

Driving Cost Reduction in Biomanufacturing Biomaterials from Methane: Engineering Novel Strains to Increase Downstream Processing Efficiency. Led by the University of California, Davis, this project will increase downstream processing efficiency to reduce costs and improve overall process economics of producing biopolymers from methane gas for use in films, fibers and 3D printing.

Economically Optimal Process Decision Making Using Machine Learning Models. Led by the University of Wisconsin–Madison, this project will develop a machine learning model to rapidly assess the technical and economic impact of perturbations during various stages of commercial fermentation processes, thereby informing real-time decision-making, enhancing operational and system performance, and boosting economic viability.

In-Fermenter Cell Datastreams: Wireless Networks of Free-Floating Microbial-Electronic Sensors. Led by Boston University and using a network of in-bioreactor free-floating sensors, this project will generate a new type of data stream from industrial bioreactors to enable predictive AI and machine learning for fermentation optimization.

Integrated Taylor Vortex Reactor System for the Production of Cost-Effective Sustainable Aviation Fuels. Led by Iowa State University, this project will develop flexible, modular technologies that integrate microbial conversion and chemical upgrading within a single reactor system to produce high-performance chemicals and fuels from biobased intermediates in a cost-effective and scalable manner.

Reducing Cost Drivers for Cell Cultured Chocolate. Led by the University of California, Davis, this project will implement cacao plant cell cultures — together with novel bioreactors, improved vessel and media sterilization methods, and in-line biomass sensors — to lower the production costs of high-quality chocolate products.

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