Biotech knows what to scale. The problem is everything else

A new report from the Advanced Biotech for Sustainability (AB4S) coalition has argued that the future of industrial biotechnology will not be determined by scientific discovery, but by the industry’s ability to scale what it already knows how to produce.

• AB4S identified functional proteins, peptides, terpenes and hydroxy acids as priority molecule families ready for industrial scale-up.

• The report highlighted infrastructure, downstream processing and demand alignment as the primary barriers to commercialization rather than scientific limitations.

• Precision fermentation-derived functional proteins were described as a near-term opportunity due to their performance advantages and ability to command premium pricing.

Published as The Molecule Manifesto, the report marked a shift from last year’s focus on market potential toward a more operational question: what will it take to build a €1.1 trillion (US$1.2 trillion) bioeconomy.

The conclusion was direct. The scientific groundwork has largely been laid. The constraint is no longer discovery, but delivery.

“The molecules are ready. The market signals are clear. What remains is the collective and coordinated decision to act,” the report stated.

For an industry that has spent decades advancing microbial engineering and synthetic biology, that assessment points to a persistent gap between technical capability and industrial reality. Molecules can be produced at pilot scale with increasing reliability. Scaling those processes into consistent, cost-effective manufacturing remains far more complex.

Within the four molecule families identified in the report – terpenes, peptides, non-catalytic proteins and hydroxy acids – functional proteins stand out as particularly relevant to food and ingredient applications.

The report drew a clear distinction between commodity proteins and functional proteins. Competing with conventional protein sources on cost alone remains a significant challenge, particularly in high-volume categories where margins are tight and production systems are already optimized at scale.

Functional proteins operate differently. Their value lies in performance rather than bulk nutrition.

Properties such as emulsification, foaming, gelling, binding and bioactivity can be engineered through precision fermentation, allowing these proteins to replace or outperform traditional ingredients in specific applications. In some cases, they enable new product formats that would be difficult to achieve with conventional inputs.

This performance-driven positioning allows functional proteins to access higher-value markets, where pricing is less tightly constrained by commodity benchmarks. The report indicated that such proteins are already capable of achieving meaningful price premiums in applications where functionality is critical.

That dynamic shifts the commercial pathway. Rather than attempting immediate large-scale substitution of animal protein, fermentation-derived proteins are entering the market through targeted use cases where their technical advantages are most relevant.

Despite this opportunity, the report emphasized that significant barriers remain.

Downstream processing was identified as one of the most persistent challenges. While advances in fermentation have improved yields and productivity, purification and recovery processes continue to add substantial cost and complexity. The report noted that downstream processing can account for between 20% and 40% of total production costs for proteins and peptides.

This imbalance between upstream and downstream capabilities continues to limit overall process efficiency. Improvements in fermentation performance do not necessarily translate into lower costs if separation and purification remain resource-intensive.

Infrastructure presents a parallel constraint. Many fermentation-derived proteins require purpose-built facilities designed specifically for biological production, where sterility, process control and consistency are critical. Existing chemical infrastructure is not always suitable for these requirements, limiting opportunities for retrofitting and increasing capital expenditure.

This creates a structural challenge for scale-up. Building new facilities requires significant investment and long development timelines, while underutilized capacity carries financial risk. At the same time, insufficient capacity can restrict growth if demand materializes faster than expected.

The report highlighted demand alignment as a critical factor in addressing this challenge.

Successful scale-up depends on a clear understanding of market demand, including who will purchase a product, at what price and in what volumes. Without this clarity, investment in large-scale infrastructure remains difficult to justify.

This approach places greater emphasis on collaboration between technology developers, manufacturers and end users. Functional proteins must demonstrate value within real-world applications, where performance, cost and regulatory considerations intersect.

The report also placed the discussion within a global context, noting that biomanufacturing capacity is unevenly distributed.

China accounts for a significant share of global fermentation output, supported by long-term investment in industrial infrastructure and process optimization. This has enabled large-scale production across multiple biochemical categories.

By comparison, Europe and the United States have maintained strong positions in research and development but have been slower to build equivalent manufacturing capacity. This imbalance has implications for supply chains, cost competitiveness and industrial strategy.

Expanding domestic production capacity for fermentation-derived proteins would require coordinated investment across infrastructure, energy systems and regulatory frameworks. The report suggested that this is not only an economic consideration, but also a strategic one.

The case for scaling functional proteins is reinforced by increasing volatility in traditional supply chains.

Events such as avian influenza outbreaks, fluctuations in dairy markets and broader disruptions in global trade have highlighted the vulnerability of systems dependent on agricultural inputs and international logistics. Fermentation-based production offers a more controlled alternative, with fewer dependencies on land, climate and animal health.

This does not eliminate risk, but it shifts it toward factors such as energy supply, feedstock availability and process efficiency, which can be managed differently.

Artificial intelligence was identified as an additional enabler, particularly in protein design and process optimization. Advances in AI are accelerating the development of new molecules and improving the efficiency of strain engineering. However, the report emphasized that faster development cycles do not address the underlying challenges of manufacturing scale.

Bridging the gap between innovation and industrialization remains the central task.

The report concluded that identifying priority molecule classes is only the first step. Translating these opportunities into commercial reality will require coordinated action across the value chain, from research and development through to manufacturing, distribution and end use.

Functional proteins produced through precision fermentation are among the clearest candidates for near-term progress. Their ability to deliver targeted performance, combined with growing demand for resilient and flexible ingredient systems, places them at the center of current scaling efforts.

The broader outcome will depend on whether infrastructure, investment and market alignment can keep pace with technological capability.

The molecules may be ready. The system required to produce them at scale is still being built.