BioMADE shortlists six states for pilot facilities
One of the six is neighboring North Carolina.
BioMADE, a manufacturing innovation institute sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense, has recently announced a shortlist of six states for consideration as potential sites to create a national network of bio-industrial manufacturing pilot facilities. The states under review include California, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, and North Carolina.
Bio-industrial manufacturing can create products like cement, fire-resistant materials, durable fibers, bioplastics, food products, and other critical commodities. The manufacturing process uses biology to convert agricultural feedstocks and waste streams into high-value chemicals, materials and other defense and industrial base products.
Currently, the U.S. faces a foundational gap in domestic pilot- and intermediate-scale bio-industrial manufacturing infrastructure. As a result, American companies that have invented innovative, state-of-the-art products and technologies often must scale up their manufacturing processes overseas. BioMADE’s proposed network of facilities will allow American companies to transition their products from the laboratory to commercial production domestically. Last year, BioMADE announced Minnesota as the site of the first facility in the national network.
Together, this network of facilities will bring back manufacturing jobs, retain American research and development efforts, provide well-paying jobs, secure a domestic supply chain for products that are critical to national and economic security, create new markets for American farmers and preserve U.S. leadership in the 21st century bioeconomy.
BioMADE will be connecting with partners and community leaders in these six states to better understand their innovation ecosystem, market need, feedstock availability, education and workforce availability and training, vision for the bioeconomy, and other factors that will impact the success of the national network.
