White Biotechnology 2025-2035: Technologies, Forecasts, Markets, Players

The bioeconomy can be defined as an economic system in which society uses renewable biological resources (i.e. derived from land, fisheries, and aquaculture environments) to create biobased products such as food and nutrients, chemicals and materials, and bio-energy. Developing the bioeconomy is a key aspect of creating a more circular sustainable economy, an especially critical task as the effects of climate change are exacerbated by global reliance on fossil fuel resources.

 

The advancement of biotechnology is critical to expanding the bioeconomy, as different areas (or "colors") of biotechnology can positively improve different sectors of the economy. For example, "green" biotechnology may be used to improve agricultural yields, while "red" biotechnology may be applied towards the creation of new vaccines. Of the numerous colors of the biotechnology spectrum, white biotechnology stands out as a key technology enabler for the bioeconomy by advancing the industrial production of biobased products through biological systems.

 

In this report, "White Biotechnology 2025-2035", IDTechEx provides independent analysis of the status of white biotechnology, looking critically at technology innovations and historic, current, and future projects to provide an objective assessment of white biotechnology's future.

 

White biotechnology, sometimes called industrial biomanufacturing, is the industrial production and processing of chemicals, materials, and energy using living cell factories, like bacteria, yeast, and fungi. White biotechnology represents a more sustainable alternative to petroleum-based chemical production: one that not only decreases society's reliance on fossil fuels but also uses less energy, generates less waste, and potentially creates biodegradable products that are better for the environment.

 

 

White biotechnology is not particularly new; engineered enzymes for detergents have been produced via white biotechnology since the 1980s, and bacterial enzymes have been used as food additives for many, many years. That begs the question: why is white biotechnology so interesting now?

 

IDTechEx, in this report, sheds light on the technology innovations driving white biotechnology's growth and increasing relevance. With improvements in biotechnology tools and processes comes the ability to produce numerous important products, from commodity chemicals to high performance textiles, through white biotechnology. One main technology driver is synthetic biology - the artificial design and engineering of biological systems and living organisms for the purpose of improving applications for industry or research. IDTechEx offers extensive discussion on synthetic biology's importance to industrial biomanufacturing by considering synthetic biology's tools and techniques, applications, emerging players, etc. IDTechEx continues their analysis of the technology advances enabling white biotechnology with detailed examinations (including status, technical benefits and challenges, commercial activity), among other trends, of:

 

Just as important as the innovations improving white biotechnology are its applications - the chemicals, precursors, additives, and materials produced by the fermentation of engineered cell factories. The range of molecules and compounds that can be biomanufactured is incredibly diverse with use cases in everything from lubricants to leather, textiles to packaging, adhesives to additives, etc. These molecules include alcohols, diols, diamines, organic acids, proteins, and more.

 

To provide clarity on these many products of white biotechnology, IDTechEx provides detailed technical and market analysis on 40+ biomanufactured molecules, looking at essential factors for each molecule such as:

 

With these IDTechEx insights, a clear understanding of the status and growing versatility of the white biotechnology industry will be achieved.

 

Among the many biobased molecules covered in this report, lactic acid stands out for its rapidly growing significance, driven largely by increased demand for polylactic acid (PLA). PLA, a biodegradable polymer derived from lactic acid, is gaining momentum as a substitute for traditional fossil-based plastics in packaging and consumer goods. This surge in demand is notably influenced by tightening environmental regulations, particularly in China, where restrictions on non-biodegradable plastics have spurred a national push toward compostable alternatives. As a result, both domestic and international PLA producers are scaling up production capacity, fueling parallel growth in the lactic acid supply chain.

 

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly becoming a pivotal enabler in the development and optimization of white biotechnology. By accelerating strain engineering, AI algorithms can analyze genomic and metabolic datasets to predict optimal genetic modifications for improved yield, tolerance, or productivity in microbial cell factories. In bioprocess development, machine learning models are being used to optimize fermentation conditions in silico, reducing the need for costly and time-consuming laboratory trials. AI also plays a vital role in enzyme discovery and protein engineering by rapidly screening candidate molecules for industrial use. As white biotechnology continues to expand its application scope, the integration of AI stands to dramatically improve process efficiency, scalability, and cost effectiveness, reinforcing the field's value proposition as a sustainable alternative to traditional petrochemical production.

 

With the diverse spectrum of molecules being produced through white biotechnology, there is a large number of companies attempting to advance their industrial biomanufacturing activities. Within this report, IDTechEx has considered well over 100 companies pursuing white biotechnology efforts, ranging from multinational material and chemical conglomerates to nascent startups. Important information such as partnerships, funding, past projects, molecules being pursued, current production capacity, and more are highlighted to understand how and why so many companies have chosen to engage with white biotechnology. These will be bolstered by IDTechEx's interview-based company profiles of key players in this market.

 

The player landscape of white biotechnology is just one component of the overall market dynamics that are shaping industrial biomanufacturing. There are numerous factors to be evaluated to determine the economic viability of certain white biotechnology projects, from internal factors such as process yield, ease of scale, and biocatalyst choice to external factors such as government regulations, crude oil prices, and the green premium. This report analyzes the white biotechnology market from these perspectives to offer understanding on the industry's prior trajectory and insight on what will determine its future success.

 

 

 

Lastly, to identify the growth potential of the white biotechnology industry, IDTechEx provides industrial biomanufacturing forecasts that segments the market by ten major biomanufactured molecules based on global production capacity. The report looks at the current capacity, drivers, and constraints of each segment and then extrapolates them into a 10-year forecast, to explore the mature and emerging white biotechnology products, technology readiness, potential for disruption, and the future landscape of white biotechnology.

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