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Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC-NDNature Communications

Beyond petrochemicals: challenges and opportunities in industrial-scale biomanufacturing

  • Ji Yeon Kim1,2
  • Hye Eun Yu1,2
  • Min Ho Kim1,2
  • Sang Yup Lee3,4,5,6,7,8
8 affiliations
  1. 1Metabolic and Biomolecular Engineering National Research Laboratory, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (BK21 four), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Republic of Korea
  2. 2Systems Metabolic Engineering and Systems Healthcare Cross-Generation Collaborative Laboratory, KAIST, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
  3. 3BioProcess Engineering Research Center, KAIST, Daejeon, Republic of Korea. [email protected]
  4. 4Center for Synthetic Biology, KAIST, Daejeon, Republic of Korea. [email protected]
  5. 5Graduate School of Engineering Biology, KAIST, Daejeon, Republic of Korea. [email protected]
  6. 6KAIST Institute for the BioCentury, KAIST, Daejeon, Republic of Korea. [email protected]
  7. 7Metabolic and Biomolecular Engineering National Research Laboratory, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (BK21 four), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Republic of Korea. [email protected]
  8. 8Systems Metabolic Engineering and Systems Healthcare Cross-Generation Collaborative Laboratory, KAIST, Daejeon, Republic of Korea. [email protected]
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Abstract

Biomanufacturing offers a sustainable alternative to petrochemical manufacturing by harnessing engineered microorganisms to convert renewable feedstocks into diverse value-added products. Systems metabolic engineering has driven its advancement, enabling rational design of microbial strains with enhanced performance and robustness. Despite these achievements, large-scale commercialisation remains limited, highlighting the persistent gap between laboratory success and industrial deployment. We examine the challenges and opportunities in advancing biomanufacturing towards industrial implementation through two cases, succinic acid and polyhydroxyalkanoates, that exemplify products nearing, yet not fully reaching, commercial maturity. Finally, we discuss how integrating artificial intelligence with systems metabolic engineering can accelerate sustainable biomanufacturing. Biomanufacturing holds promise as an alternative to the petrochemical industry, with benefits including increased sustainability as well as improved supply chain resilience, a factor of particular importance in times of geopolitical instability. Here the authors explore both the challenges and opportunities in progressing biomanufacturing from laboratory successes towards industrial-scale deployment.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{kim2026beyond,
  title = {{Beyond petrochemicals: challenges and opportunities in industrial-scale biomanufacturing}},
  author = {Ji Yeon Kim and Hye Eun Yu and Min Ho Kim and Sang Yup Lee},
  journal = {Nature Communications},
  year = {2026},
  month = may,
  doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-73835-1},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-73835-1},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Beyond petrochemicals: challenges and opportunities in industrial-scale biomanufacturing
AU  - Ji Yeon Kim
AU  - Hye Eun Yu
AU  - Min Ho Kim
AU  - Sang Yup Lee
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/30
JO  - Nature Communications
DO  - 10.1038/s41467-026-73835-1
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-73835-1
AB  - Biomanufacturing offers a sustainable alternative to petrochemical manufacturing by harnessing engineered microorganisms to convert renewable feedstocks into diverse value-added products. Systems metabolic engineering has driven its advancement, enabling rational design of microbial strains with enhanced performance and robustness. Despite these achievements, large-scale commercialisation remains limited, highlighting the persistent gap between laboratory success and industrial deployment. We examine the challenges and opportunities in advancing biomanufacturing towards industrial implementation through two cases, succinic acid and polyhydroxyalkanoates, that exemplify products nearing, yet not fully reaching, commercial maturity. Finally, we discuss how integrating artificial intelligence with systems metabolic engineering can accelerate sustainable biomanufacturing. Biomanufacturing holds promise as an alternative to the petrochemical industry, with benefits including increased sustainability as well as improved supply chain resilience, a factor of particular importance in times of geopolitical instability. Here the authors explore both the challenges and opportunities in progressing biomanufacturing from laboratory successes towards industrial-scale deployment.
SN  - 2041-1723
ER  -