New Bioreactor Innovation Projects Announced
BioMADE is excited to announce five new projects that focus on developing more efficient, lower-cost, flexible, and re-deployable bioreactors to advance the U.S. bioeconomy and biomanufacturing goals. Project teams led by members Capra Biosciences, Amyris, Geno, and two teams from Iowa State University propose technological innovations in bioreactor hardware, software, sensors, modeling, and automation to make bio-based products more efficiently at commercial scales. These projects were funded through a special BioMADE Project Call on advancing bioreactor design and development thanks to support from Schmidt Futures. The projects are:
Development of a Continuous Taylor Vortex Fermentor-Extractor-Separator: By integrating product extraction and separation in the bioreactor itself, researchers will provide a flexible, modular, and redeployable bioreactor design.
Member: Iowa State UniversityModeling and Mimicking of Bioreactor Gradients to Predict Scale-Up Performance: This project focuses on developing and validating workflows to predict the performance of oil-producing fermentations at demo-scale based on laboratory experiments.
Member: GenoModular Biofilm Reactors to Convert Waste-Based Feedstocks to Vitamin A: Project partners will advance critical bioreactor automation, next-gen sensing, and novel continuous-flow separation methods to scale-up Capra’s biofilm reactors into an automated pilot plant.
Member team: Capra Biosciences, Boston University, Next Rung TechnologyProduct Quality Sensors for Machine Learning (ML)-Guided Process Optimization and Control of Modularized Production Plants: This team of academic and industry researchers will create a generalizable machine learning framework for optimization and control of bioreactors to reduce resources needed to design new processes and improve product quality throughout production.
Member team: Iowa State University, NovozymesProject MONDE: In order to minimize or eliminate the inhibitory impact of certain recombinant products, this project will evaluate a modification to both the design and operation of an aseptic production fermentor.
Member team: Amyris, Sudhin Biopharma
“We are excited about the different approaches each of the teams took to bioreactor innovation,” said Penny Norquist, BioMADE Senior Technology Program Manager. “Each project addresses some aspect of bioreactor innovation, from design to monitoring and modeling what's happening inside the reactor to separation techniques.”