BioMADE Marks One Year

BioMADE marked its one-year anniversary in April. We’ve come a long way from when we officially opened our doors: 141 members across 29 states, 25 projects underway, rewarding partnerships, innovative projects, a growing team, two offices, and held our first in-person Member Meeting! Thank you to all our members and the U.S. Department of Defense for making our first year so successful. Check out more highlights from our first year here.

Project Highlights

Developing Domestic Source of Natural Rubber

BioMADE is partnering with the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and Farmed Materials to develop a domestic source of natural rubber from a specific species of dandelion. More than 90 percent of the world’s natural rubber is made from latex derived from rubber trees and is primarily sourced from tropical locations outside of the U.S. The program will build on research that analyzed more than 2,500 species of plants but found only a few with properties suitable for use in tires.

Bioprocessing Equipment Donations to Community Colleges

BioMADE coordinated the donation of free bioprocessing equipment to 23 community and technical colleges through a partnership with member Scientific Bioprocessing. This equipment donation will have a significant impact on community and technical colleges that are educating and training the next generation of the workforce. Partnerships like this will help cultivate a diverse and deep talent pool for the bioindustrial manufacturing sector at large.

Transition Technical Roadmap

In partnership with a 27-person working group made up of experts from the U.S. government, industry, and academia, BioMADE released its Transition Technical Roadmap to members in April 2022. This document will guide future roadmapping efforts, technical priorities, and project calls.

Scaling Magnetosome Productions

Members Superbrewed Food and Lockheed Martin have made significant progress optimizing upstream and downstream processing of magnetosomes from magnetotactic bacteria. This project will establish a first-ever, reliable, domestic supply of magnetosomes for applications such as coatings, antennas, and medical diagnostics.