{"id":162193,"date":"2025-04-25T07:23:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T05:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=162193"},"modified":"2025-04-24T13:10:24","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T11:10:24","slug":"federal-report-spotlights-urgent-need-for-u-s-biomanufacturing-ifab-tech-hub-is-ready-to-deliver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/federal-report-spotlights-urgent-need-for-u-s-biomanufacturing-ifab-tech-hub-is-ready-to-deliver\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal report spotlights urgent need for U.S. biomanufacturing – iFAB Tech Hub is ready to deliver"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\"The
The iFAB Tech Hub is a Central Illinois consortium spearheading the future of biomanufacturing \u2014 transforming domestically grown crops into high-value products like alternative proteins and bio-based chemicals. \u00a9 iFAB<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The Illinois Fermentation and Agriculture Biomanufacturing (iFAB) Tech Hub<\/a>, led by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign<\/a>, is positioned to become the cornerstone of the United States’ bioeconomy infrastructure in the wake of a newly released report<\/a> from the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology<\/a> that calls for bold federal investments and urgent action to secure U.S. leadership in biotechnology and biomanufacturing<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Developed with input from over 1,800 stakeholders, the report urges more than $15 billion in near-term funding and the creation of a national network of manufacturing facilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The iFAB Tech Hub stands out as a ready-built model for scaling biomanufacturing innovation and commercialization. One of only 12 Tech Hubs to receive implementation funding<\/a> through the U. S. Economic Development Administration<\/a>, iFAB has already secured $51 million in federal support and over $680 million in matching investments across 33 consortium partners<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThis report validates the very foundation of iFAB\u2019s mission: to advance domestic biomanufacturing capabilities, reduce reliance on foreign production, and strengthen U.S. economic and national security,\u201d said iFAB regional innovation officer <\/strong>Beth Conerty<\/strong><\/a>. \u201cWe stand ready to deliver on this national call for biomanufacturing scale-up, commercialization, and workforce readiness.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

A major component of the EDA award will support a $40 million expansion of the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory<\/a> – the nation\u2019s premier open-access facility for scale-up and commercialization of biomanufacturing processes – adding thousands of liters of precision fermentation capacity to help close the critical infrastructure gap between lab-scale discovery and commercial production. The IBRL is housed within the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering<\/a>, part of The Grainger College of Engineering<\/a> and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences<\/a> at U. of I. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe University of Illinois has spent decades building one of the most robust biotechnology innovation ecosystems in the country, right here in the heartland – where breakthrough research, commercialization, and workforce training are deeply connected,\u201d said Susan Martinis<\/a>, the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation at U. of I. <\/strong>\u201ciFAB is the natural outcome  of that investment, linking discovery to deployment and answering one of the nation\u2019s most urgent priorities: scaling U.S. biomanufacturing capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

With unmatched access to world-class research, agricultural feedstocks, and a growing pipeline of public and private investment, iFAB is uniquely positioned to lead the next era of U.S. biomanufacturing from the heart of Central Illinois. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhile the iFAB Tech Hub is already delivering on federal priorities, the demand for U.S.-based biomanufacturing capacity far exceeds current capabilities,\u201d Conerty<\/strong> said. \u201cContinued and significant investment is still needed to fully realize the region\u2019s potential to serve as a national engine for scale-up, innovation, and resilient supply chains.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This report emphasizes the need for facilities like IBRL that can bridge the scale-up gap and accelerate commercialization timelines. It also underscores the urgency of predictable, rapid, and cost-competitive production – challenges iFAB is already tackling with industry and academic partners across the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe have the blueprint, the infrastructure, and the momentum,\u201d Conerty<\/strong> added. \u201cNow we need sustained federal partnership to fully unlock what iFAB and IBRL can deliver for the country.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

About iFAB Tech Hub<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The\u00a0Illinois Fermentation and Agriculture Biomanufacturing (iFAB) Tech Hub<\/a>\u00a0is poised to become the global leader in precision fermentation and biomanufacturing – an industry expected to grow to $200 billion over the next 15 years. Leveraging biology as a manufacturing technology of the future, iFAB is uniquely uniting world-class R&D, industry leaders, innovative startups, scalable infrastructure, abundant feedstock production, unparalleled transportation networks, and strong relationships with corn and soybean suppliers within a 51-mile radius. This unique lab-to-line approach establishes the iFAB region (Champaign, Piatt, and Macon counties) as the preeminent destination for the biomanufacturing industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Illinois Fermentation and Agriculture Biomanufacturing (iFAB) Tech Hub, led by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, is positioned to become the cornerstone of the United States’ bioeconomy infrastructure in the wake of a newly released report from the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology that calls for bold federal investments and urgent action to secure U.S. leadership in biotechnology and biomanufacturing. Developed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":162196,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":"Developed with input from over 1,800 stakeholders,\u00a0the report urges more than $15 billion in near-term funding and the creation of a national network of manufacturing facilities","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[22614,17299,5796,10416,16171],"supplier":[26181,26184,26172,26183,25331,26182],"class_list":["post-162193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bio-based","tag-biofeedstocks","tag-biomanufacturing","tag-biotechnology","tag-circulareconomy","tag-fermentation","supplier-illinois-fermentation-and-agriculture-biomanufacturing-ifab-tech-hub","supplier-integrated-bioprocessing-research-laboratory","supplier-national-security-commission-on-emerging-biotechnology-nsceb","supplier-the-grainger-college-of-engineering-illinois","supplier-university-of-illinois-at-urbana-champaign","supplier-us-economic-development-administration"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162193\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162193"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=162193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}