From Policy to Practice Actionable Recommendations for a Commercial Bioeconomy 2025

Recommendation 11 Increased government funding for shared scaling infrastructure What would happen if more government funds were allocated towards establishing critical infrastructure to accelerate commercial scaling? The substantial capital costs required to scale bio-innovations, combined with long and expensive development timelines, create major barriers to commercialization.48 While the recommendations presented so far focus on transitioning bio- innovations from the lab to commercial scale, funding for scaling infrastructure is also urgently needed. Although the number of pilot facilities supporting biosolutions’ scale-up has grown significantly in recent years, access to high-quality and affordable commercial-scale pilot plants remains scarce. The private sector alone cannot carry the burden of building such infrastructure. More is needed from governments to fund shared facilities and enable a thriving, commercial bioeconomy (Box 6). Such facilities are a breeding ground for promising bio- innovations to be taken from traditional laboratory spaces and scaled to ensure the technology can meet commercial and market demands. Further investment in shared infrastructure for piloting will increase the likelihood that bio-innovations reach the market while reducing overall capital burdens and de-risking investments. Description Increased government funding for domestic manufacturing infrastructure will provide better access to pilot and commercial-scale facilities, strengthening national resilience through enhanced manufacturing capabilities and supply chains. Example India’s Department of Biotechnology (DBT) is funding biomanufacturing hubs to build infrastructure for pilot production, process optimization and the commercialization of bio-based products.49Recommendation 11 The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) in India has established funding mechanisms for biomanufacturing. Under the BioE3 (Biotechnology for Economy, Environment, and Employment) policy, DBT, in collaboration with the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), offers financial support for pilot-scale production infrastructure, process optimization and commercialization of bio-based products. Increasing the number of pilot scale and commercial facilities will allow more companies to transition their products from the laboratory to commercial production, securing supply chains and enhancing national competitiveness for national bioeconomies.50 24 From Policy to Practice: Actionable Recommendations for a Commercial Bioeconomy