I. Cognitive Biomanufacturing: From Microbial "Employment" to the Green Manufacturing Revolution
Biological manufacturing is not a completely new concept. Instead, it is an advanced manufacturing model that uses microorganisms, animal and plant cells, enzymes, etc. as core "production units", integrating modern biological technologies such as synthetic biology and genetic engineering. Under mild conditions, it converts renewable or low-value raw materials such as biomass and carbon dioxide into high-value products in fields like medicine and materials. Its core is to make microorganisms become efficient "cell factories", fundamentally replacing the traditional high-pollution and high-energy-consuming manufacturing model, and is the core driving force for cultivating new quality productive forces.
Its technological lineage spans both traditional and modern approaches, ranging from traditional fermentation processes such as wine-making and sauce production, to modern genetic editing and synthetic biology. It is gradually transitioning from "replacing chemical methods" to "creating new substances". Chinese Academy of Engineering fellow Tan Tianwei pointed out that bio-manufacturing is centered on industrial biotechnology, achieving comprehensive greening of raw materials, processes, and products. In the next two to thirty years, "bio-manufacturing+" will, like "Internet+", profoundly change human production and lifestyle.
It is worth noting that in the 2025 "Government Work Report", biomanufacturing was included for the first time in the list of "future industries" for cultivation. The "15th Five-Year Plan" proposal clearly identified it as a new growth point, highlighting its strategic position in the national development. The team of Chen Guoqiang from Tsinghua University isolated the salt Myxococcus genus and independently developed gene editing tools, which broke the patent blockade of bacterial strains in the field of biological materials by the West, and became a typical benchmark for technological breakthroughs.
II. Sub-sectors: Six major sectors work together, each shining in its own way.
(1) Biopharmaceuticals: The Core of Innovation in a Trillion-Dollar Market Segment
As the largest and most technologically advanced sub-sector in the field of bio-manufacturing, biopharmaceuticals cover cell and gene therapy, recombinant proteins, antibody drugs, vaccines, etc. They can develop more effective innovative drugs (such as ADC antibody conjugate drugs), and also produce essential substances like insulin. In 2025, the total amount of foreign licensing transactions for innovative drugs in China's biopharmaceutical sector exceeded 130 billion US dollars, with more than 150 transactions, setting a new record and demonstrating the vitality of industrial innovation.
(2) Bio-based Chemicals: The Key to Overcoming the Bottleneck of Petrochemical Raw Materials
With products such as diethylene glycol and diacetic acid as the core, theoretically 90% of traditional petrochemical products can be obtained through biological manufacturing. China has built a production line of approximately 20,000 tons of biobased 1,3-propanediol, and biobased diacetic acid and other products have achieved large-scale production. This provides important support for the diversification of chemical raw materials, promotes the upgrading of the industry to the medium and high-end level, and creates a brand-new industrial chain.
(3) Biomedical Materials: Degradable Solutions Solve the Problem of White Pollution
Focusing on degradable materials such as polylactic acid (PLA) and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), the global production capacity of degradable materials is expected to account for 62.7% by 2025. China's annual PLA production capacity reaches 10,000 tons, ranking second in the world. The total annual production capacity of PHA exceeds 20,000 tons. The PHA production technology developed by Chen Guoqiang's team at Tsinghua University has been implemented in Yichang, Hubei Province. After full-scale production, the production capacity will account for half of the global total and the production cost will drop to 30,000 yuan per ton.
(4) Bioenergy: Facilitating the Green Transformation in the Transportation Sector
It includes cellulose ethanol, biodiesel, and bioaviation kerosene, etc. As the third largest producer and user of bioethanol in the world, China has built a production capacity of 5 million tons and is currently constructing an additional capacity of over 3 million tons. The industrial exhaust gas fermentation technology of LanzaTech can convert the exhaust gas from steel mills into ethanol, demonstrating the synergistic potential of bioenergy and carbon capture and utilization. It is estimated that the global market size of biofuels will reach 284.35 billion US dollars by 2030.
(5) Food Raw Materials and Additives: An Innovative Field Close to People's Daily Lives
Including bulk fermentation products, biosynthetic food raw materials and key components of future foods, BCG predicts that the impact of synthetic biology technology on the food and beverage industry will reach 5.7 billion US dollars in 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of over 50% from 2021 to 2026. Yikele Bio has achieved large-scale production of steviol glycosides, Fuxiang Pharmaceutical promotes the industrialization of microbial protein, and the field of alternative proteins has become a key focus area for the future.
(6) Enzyme preparations: "Industrial catalysts" produced by biotechnology
As a fundamental supporting industry, enzymes are used in various fields such as food, medicine, and chemicals. Currently, enterprises in Europe, America, and Japan hold the technological monopoly. Domestic feed enzyme preparations have gradually achieved import substitution, but high-end industrial enzymes still lag behind international standards. Breaking through to the high-end field will be the key for domestic enterprises to find a way out in the future.
III. Global Landscape: Countries Compete, Trillion-Dollar Market Opens Up at an Accelerated Pace
(1) Main Development Paths of Major Countries
The United States has established a "full-stack" innovation ecosystem through continuous strategic investment and enterprise layout (such as Ginkgo Bioworks and LanzaTech), establishing technological and industrial leadership advantages, and emphasizing the importance of biological manufacturing for national security and the economy. The European Union adheres to the "legislation first" approach, while promoting innovation, it also pays attention to ethics, safety and standard formulation, attempting to promote European standards globally. Japan takes the "biological manufacturing +" integration route, relying on existing advantages such as fermentation engineering and enzyme preparations, focusing on the combination with existing industries, and laying out in areas such as future food.
(II) Global Market and Competitive Focus
The global bio-manufacturing market is growing rapidly. The OECD predicts that by 2030, at least 20% of petrochemical products can be replaced by bio-based chemicals, with a market size of approximately 800 billion US dollars. Currently, the substitution rate is less than 5%, leaving significant room for improvement. It is expected that in 2050, bio-manufacturing will generate 30 trillion US dollars in economic value, accounting for one-third of the global manufacturing industry. Currently, the patent barriers for core strains and enzyme preparations have become the focus of international competition. Multinational companies such as DuPont and Novozymes hold a dominant position. At the same time, the integration of artificial intelligence and bio-manufacturing has become a new frontier in global research and development, but it faces challenges such as data bottlenecks.
IV. Domestic Situation: Strategic Reinforcement, Industry Entering a Period of Rapid Development
Our country's strategic deployment for biomanufacturing has been continuously deepened. Starting from 2022 when it was listed as an important direction in the "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Biotechnology Economy", and then being included in the "Future Industries" list in 2025, the state has been continuously exerting efforts. Currently, the industry scale has exceeded one trillion yuan, with fermentation capacity accounting for over 70% of the global total. Regions such as Changde, Hunan Province, have formed industrial clusters. In 2024, the output value of 35 synthetic biology enterprises in the area reached 12.5 billion yuan.
In terms of research and development innovation, China ranks first globally in terms of the number of published papers and patent applications in the field of bio-manufacturing. Over the past five years, the 100 major enterprises have cumulatively applied for more than 13,000 patents in these fields. Some areas have achieved a leap from "following" to "parallel" and "leading" development. The enthusiasm for capital investment has continued to rise. In the past year, the total investment and financing amount was approximately 28 billion yuan. Several regions such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Hunan have established industrial funds, and the investment logic has shifted from "investing in concepts" to "evaluating implementation". At the same time, the industrial ecosystem is accelerating its formation. Listed companies and start-ups are collaborating, artificial intelligence is empowering the industry to transform towards "data-driven" development, and the Meigai Kunpeng Laboratory has shortened the trial period for some experiments to 6-8 weeks.
V. Domestic Industry Opportunities: Six Key Sub-sectors Worth Investing In
Domestication of core bacterial strains and enzyme preparations: As the "core component" of biomanufacturing, it is currently under patent blockade by Europe and the United States. Enterprises with independent R&D capabilities will reshape the industry landscape. The Chen Guoqiang team from Tsinghua University has achieved a technological breakthrough.
2. Biobased material monomers and polymers: China has established a complete industrial chain. In the future, it is necessary to extend towards high value-added areas and complete the entire industrial chain. The cooperation between Kai Sai Bio, the Hefei Municipal Government, and the China Merchants Group has set a model.
3. Alternative Proteins and Future Food: The market has immense growth potential. Products such as microbial proteins and stevia glycosides have already been industrialized, and they are expected to revolutionize the traditional food supply structure.
4. Biosynthesis of natural products: Instead of traditional plant extraction, this approach can lead to cost reduction and efficiency improvement. Companies such as Chuan Ning Biotechnology and Jin Cheng Pharmaceutical have gradually made their entries into this field, and the market potential is vast.
5. High value-added pharmaceutical intermediates and raw materials: The trend is shifting towards biological methods as an alternative to chemical synthesis. Companies such as Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical and Duomeikang have achieved innovative breakthroughs in these areas.
6. Intelligent biological manufacturing equipment and pilot-scale platforms: As a key infrastructure for industrialization, this area still has shortcomings in the industry and enterprises with independent R&D capabilities will gain the upper hand.
VI. Scenario Implementation: Six Key Areas to Unleash Industrial Value
Biomedical: Focusing on the industrialization of innovative drugs, cell and gene therapy, and ADC drugs, these products enhance efficacy and reduce side effects. The speed of new drug launches continues to accelerate.
2. Bio-based materials: Applied in areas such as green packaging and degradable plastics. Products like PLA and PHA are gradually replacing traditional petroleum-based plastics. Kesi Biotechnology's bio-based polyamide has been applied in refrigerated containers.
3. Bioenergy: Promote the green transformation of aviation fuel and vehicle fuel. Technologies such as converting waste cooking oil into bioaviation kerosene and converting industrial exhaust gases into ethanol have achieved breakthroughs.
4. Future Food: Alternative proteins and new food ingredients are gradually being implemented, meeting consumers' demands for health and sustainability, and alleviating the pressure on traditional agricultural resources.
5. Agriculture and Feed: Microbial proteins replace soybean meal, reducing reliance on imported soybeans, and biological pesticides and fertilizers achieve a win-win situation of agricultural production increase and ecological protection.
6. Utilization of industrial waste gas and carbon dioxide: Providing a new path for carbon reduction. China is advancing the research and development of carbon dioxide bioconversion technologies, which aligns with the global goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality.
VII. Summary and Outlook
From traditional fermentation to modern synthetic biology, biomanufacturing has regained its full vitality in the 21st century and is currently at a critical juncture transitioning from "technological breakthrough" to "large-scale commercialization". China has established a complete industrial chain in the field of biomanufacturing, with its fermentation production capacity and patent application volume ranking among the top globally. The combination of multiple favorable policies, capital, and technologies has led to a strong momentum in industrial development.
At the same time, we must also be fully aware that there is still a gap between China and the international leading level in core strains, high-end enzyme preparations, intelligent equipment and other fields. Problems such as the scaling-up from laboratories to industrialization and the construction of pilot and intermediate testing platforms need to be solved urgently. In the next five years, it is a crucial period for biomanufacturing to make a leap from "replacing chemical methods" to "creating new substances", and it is also a decisive window for China to seize the global industrial leadership position. Only by adhering to independent innovation, deeply exploring scenario implementation, and building a complete industrial ecosystem can we seize the trillion-dollar blue ocean opportunities in this manufacturing revolution driven by tiny strains and achieve high-quality industrial development.
