In an audacious move toward promoting sustainable and innovative bioengineering methods, the German Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation, known as SPRIND, has rolled out its latest competitive initiative: the SPRIND Challenge 'Circular Biomanufacturing.' This rigorous three-year contest is designed to boost the development of novel bioprocessing techniques, offering funding to as many as eight teams.

The ultimate goal is to bring a wave of change to conventional manufacturing practices by valorizing raw materials that have been discarded as waste. At present, our global economy relies heavily on freshly mined raw materials, a pattern of consumption that burdens our environment and society in various ways. The SPRIND challenge seeks to transition our economy toward a more circular system, harnessing existing resources to create new products.

Biomanufacturing is identified as a critical aspect of achieving this goal, given its comparatively lower energy usage and reduced labor demands. Moreover, it holds the potential to transform waste into valuable raw material, steering us away from wasteful linear economic practices.

The advent of recent scientific breakthroughs has shed light on a wealth of opportunities for biomanufacturing, providing new ways to optimize and use these techniques more effectively. Even though some biomanufacturing technologies have shown promise within niche markets, the real challenge is scaling up these operations to the industrial level. The goal is to weave these processes into current manufacturing methods and supplant or supplement the labor-intensive and costly petrochemical manufacturing process.

Speaking on the potential of the SPRIND Challenge, Dr. Jano Costard, Challenge Officer at SPRIND said, “Using the SPRIND Challenge vehicle, this specific Challenge, entitled Circular Biomanufacturing, we will seek to develop an end-to-end prototype, which consumes valorized waste streams under continuous fermentation conditions to produce intermediary or final materials.” Dr. Costard further explained that the aim is to lay the foundation for novel biomanufacturing processes that make use of available (secondary) raw materials while being a closed, sustainable, environmentally friendly system that is resilient to market fluctuations.

SPRIND is extending an invitation to skilled teams to propose innovative solutions that will forward the development of biomanufacturing technologies and achieve the Challenge’s objectives. An expert panel will be assembled to select up to eight teams for the first round of funding. Teams selected will receive support and expert consultation from SPRIND and gain access to a comprehensive network of subject matter experts.

A grand sum of 40 million Euros has been allocated to support the SPRIND Challenge, which will commence on November 1, 2023, and run for a three-year period. Participating teams will undergo annual evaluations to determine their eligibility for continued funding in the subsequent year.

Teams interested in the challenge have until September 17th, 2023, to submit their proposals. For further details, visit the SPRIND official website at: https://www.sprind.org/en/challenges/biomanufacturing.