PERSPECTIVE
WORLD-GENERATION NOV/DEC 2015
18
Executives from 725 biomass, renew-
able chemical, and biotech companies
gathered at the 2015 BIO World Congress
on Industrial Biotechnology in Montreal
from July 19 through July 22. While
remaining the largest international confer-
ence for industrial biotechnology compa-
nies, the 12
th
annual World Congress saw
an increased focus on business partnering
and dealmaking with biomass, renewable
energy and consumer product manufactur-
ing companies. The maturation of biotech-
nology solutions is enabling new products
and new economic opportunities under the
umbrella of what industry insiders call
“the biobased economy.”
“The biobased economy is strong and
growing stronger worldwide,” proclaimed
Brent Erickson, executive vice president of
the Industrial & Environmental Section at
BIO, in a speech welcoming the nearly
1,200 attendees. “Today, in market after
market, we are seeing growing global
demand for [industrial biotechnology]
products and a growing understanding
that the work we do is the future of manu-
facturing and energy production.”
Companies have invested more than
$6 billion in advanced biofuel and renew-
able chemical biorefineries in North
America alone, according to BIO’s
research. There will be more than 100 mil-
lion gallons of cellulosic biofuels coming
online in the United States this year. And
biobased products already contribute $369
billion to the economy on an annual basis,
according to USDA statistics. The sector
directly employs 1.5 million Americans
and creates additional employment oppor-
tunities for 2.5 million Americans.
Germany’s Nova Institute indicates
that biobased polymer production has
reached a capacity of 5.1 million metric
tons worldwide, representing 2 percent of
the global market. This production has a
value of about €10 billion. Nova estimates
that this capacity will more than triple to
reach 17 million metric tons by 2020. This
is the fastest growing sector of a growing
polymer market, according to the Nova
Institute, so the biobased share of the mar-
ket is expected to double to 4 percent of
the overall worldwide market. By 2021, the
global market for biobased chemicals
(other than polymers) is expected to
increase to more than $12 billion.
“All across the globe, your companies
are establishing a firm foothold in the
global economy, with new technologies
reaching commercial status,” Erickson
continued. The rapid growth of the sector
is attracting large companies to make
investments and form new ventures with
smaller biotech companies. “Large global
brands owners like Coca Cola, Boeing,
Toyota, Nike, Bridgestone, Seventh
Generation to name just a few understand
the value and the benefits of partnering
and innovating alongside your companies,”
Erickson concluded.
“The World Congress itself is a reflec-
tion of the growing biobased economy and
also a contributing driver of that growth,”
Erickson said. And as illustration, BIO pre-
sented its 2015 George Washington Carver
Award to Solazyme CEO Jonathan S.
Wolfson. Wolfson started by thanking the
many partners his company has worked
with in developing new products, including
food ingredients like heart healthy oils
and protein powders, personal care ingre-
dients like soaps, branded cosmetic prod-
ucts such as Algenist, and oilfield chemi-
cals and fuels. Solazyme has partnered
with large multinational companies such
as Bunge, Unilever, Mitsui and ADM.
In accepting the award, Wolfson noted
that Solazyme did not set out to create as
broad a product line – from food ingredi-
ents, to cosmetics, to energy and fuels –
with as diverse a set of partners as it even-
tually did. The company simply followed
the paths opened up by the technology.
Wolfson asked rhetorically. “What has got-
ten me out of bed with, I think, a spring in
my step almost all mornings over the last
twelve years? The answer is that our world
needs what we, collectively in this room,
are doing. Our planet needs to feed, clothe
and fuel over 9 billion people in just a few
short decades in a far more sustainable
way than it is currently being done.”
The 2015 BIO World Congress
brought together executives from across
the globe, including representatives from
investment firms, government and aca-
demia. The 1,200 attendees filled the
meeting rooms and halls of the Palais des
congrès de Montréal, a venue that attract-
ed large international delegations from
Brazil, Holland and Thailand as well as
from Illinois, Iowa and Canadian
Provinces. One of the primary features of
the Congress was the more than 1,400
partnering meetings hosted during the
event. The World Congress provides a pro-
prietary web-based tool for attendees to
seek and set up meetings with others
onsite to discuss potential opportunities
for partnerships, venture investments and
marketing deals. The one-on-one partner-
ing software saw a 40% increase in use
from the 2014 BIO World Congress held in
Philadelphia. BIO also announced that the
2016 BIO World Congress on Industrial
Biotechnology will take place April 17-20
in San Diego at the San Diego Convention
Center.
BIO PARTNERSTO BUILDTHE BIOECONOMY
BY PAUL WINTERS
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS,BIOTECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY ORGANIZATION (BIO)
