At the main forum of the 27th Chinese Association for Science and Technology Annual Conference, Tan Tianwei, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, president of Beijing University of Chemical Technology, and president of the Chinese Society of Renewable Energy, delivered a keynote speech titled "Developing Biomanufacturing to Boost New Quality Productivity". He provided an in-depth interpretation and systematic elaboration on four aspects: the definition of biomanufacturing, the new tracks and new business forms generated by biomanufacturing, the development trends of biomanufacturing at home and abroad, and the major demands and key directions of China's biomanufacturing industry.
Biomanufacturing, centered on industrial biotechnology, utilizes enzymes and microbial cells in combination with chemical engineering techniques to process target products, including bio-based materials, chemicals, and bioenergy. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development once stated that "biomanufacturing is one of the most promising technologies for sustainable industrial development." Tan Tianwei believes that biomanufacturing will bring revolutionary changes to multiple fields: the production methods relying on traditional chemical engineering and plant extraction will gradually be replaced by the upgraded biomanufacturing methods from traditional biological fermentation; biomanufacturing uses renewable biomass as raw materials, which will greatly promote the realization of the "dual carbon" goals in manufacturing; from the perspective of economic development, biomanufacturing is the engine to bring biotechnological innovative products to commercial scale and the foundation of the bioeconomy; the biomanufacturing industry is an important component of strategic emerging industries and is of great significance for developing new productive forces.
From a global perspective, the world's major economies have all set strategic goals for the biomanufacturing industry. China, with its well-established industrial foundation and vast consumer market, has unique advantages in developing biomanufacturing. Tan Tianwei believes that in the future, China needs to develop new-generation biomanufacturing scientific and technological innovation products and key technologies, and take key measures including building a green biomanufacturing product system; attaching importance to the design and application of underlying databases, software and biocatalysts; accelerating the development of important bio-chemicals and materials and reducing carbon emissions throughout the life cycle. It is necessary to enhance China's independent innovation capabilities, ensure industrial support capabilities, and overcome key core technologies of key strategic products to accelerate the high-level development of China's biomanufacturing.
