BioMADE, a non-profit organization focused on building a domestic bioindustrial manufacturing ecosystem, made a pair of announcements regarding two facilities that will join its national network dedicated to turning agricultural feedstocks and waste streams to chemicals, materials, textiles, fuels, bioplastics and other products.
The company announced Maple Grove, Minnesota as the site for a 122,000-square-foot facility that will feature demonstration-scale piloting equipment, with two 25,000-liter industrial fermenters that will accommodate multiple companies. The facility will house processing equipment such as a centrifuge, membrane filtration skid, ion exchange columns, crystallizer and drying, which can produce both liquid and solid final products.
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The facility will also include on-site education and workforce development opportunities including hands-on laboratory training. The project represents an investment of at least $132 million, with funding provided by the U.S. Department of Defense and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
“The U.S. has been a global leader in biotechnology research and innovation for more than 40 years. However, the country needs additional assets to bring these innovations from the lab to commercial production,” said BioMADE CEO Douglas Friedman in a statement. “BioMADE is proud to announce this exciting milestone in Minnesota, as we continue to collaborate with partners across the country to build our network of biomanufacturing facilities. The Maple Grove location will provide the industry and Department of Defense with shared access to the state-of-the-art equipment required to face the challenges of scaling up.”
BioMADE also announced an agreement with Lygos, a sustainable specialty chemicals company, to transition its pilot-scale biomanufacturing infrastructure into a nationally available, multi-user facility.
The nearly 25,000-square-foot-facility will include piloting, processing and analytical space. BioMADE will independently operate the Hayward facility, while Lygos will remain a key customer of the facility’s expanded capabilities. BioMADE said it will invest at least $80 million to acquire the processing equipment and to expand capabilities in fermentation capacity and downstream processing.
Bioindustrial manufacturing can create or improve needed defense materials like lightweight composite materials, anti-corrosive lubricants, energetics and energetic precursors, fuels, high temperature-resistant foams and thermal protection systems and more. In addition to providing defense capabilities, bioindustrial manufacturing secures consumer supply chains for products like plant-based fabrics, detergents, paints and coatings, adhesives, beauty and personal care items and bioplastics.
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