Engineering biology is expected to disrupt all industries, as all organizations surveyed in Singapore believe biosolutions will create a major disruption in their industry in the next ten years, Capgemini Research Institute said in a report on Monday.

According to the firm’s “Engineering biology: The time is now” report, the top three benefits that Singapore organizations believe biosolutions will bring are access to new revenue streams (68 percent), reduced biodiversity loss (66 percent), and reduced waste (64 percent).

The report also showed 46 percent of organizations in Singapore are already exploring biosolutions, while 38 percent are conducting research and development (R&D) activities to develop or test such solutions.

Meanwhile, an overwhelming 90 percent of organizations in Singapore plan to increase investment in biosolutions in the next five to ten years, the highest out of all countries surveyed.

It is noted that sustainability is the top driver of corporate interest in driving biosolutions for organizations in Singapore.

86 percent of organizations in Singapore believe that technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), digital twins, robotics and sensors can contribute significantly towards reducing costs of developing and scaling biosolutions, the highest out of all countries surveyed.

Meanwhile, 88 percent of organizations in Singapore believe AI will play an important role in accelerating adoption of biosolutions, with 74 percent of those surveyed already using the technology to do so.

100 percent of all engineering biology startups surveyed believe greater governmental support is needed to establish clear regulatory frameworks capable of supporting rapid innovation in biosolutions, while 46 percent of corporates agree with this sentiment.

67 percent of engineering biology startups agree that regulations need to establish a level playing field for biosolutions by removing subsidies for fossil fuels, versus 54% of corporates who feel the same way.

Overall, the report highlighted organizations across all sectors are preparing for the transformative impact of engineering biology – the application of principles from biology and engineering, in conjunction with AI and data-driven computational techniques, to create new or redesigned biological systems for valuable purposes.

It said they are looking to harness recent advancements in bioengineering to achieve environmental benefits and improved product performance.

The report also found that sustainability is a major driver of corporate interest, with over 70 percent of organizations expecting biosolutions to significantly accelerate their progress towards sustainability goals.

Cost and performance advantages are the other factors contributing to this.

The report also highlighted some of the barriers that need to be overcome to realize this potential, from market awareness and acceptance to high costs and a shortage of skilled professionals.

With regard to the need for greater predictability and faster development, the use of AI and engineering principles to create new or redesigned biological systems, is enabling significant innovation in engineering biology across every industry.

The report found that almost every (99 percent) executive surveyed expects the field of engineering biology to initiate sweeping changes in their industry in the next five to ten years or more.

Technological breakthroughs in DNA synthesis, editing and sequencing have dramatically increased the speed and precision with which biological systems can be engineered, while significantly lowering costs.

Moreover, rapid progress in AI has led to significant improvements in the understanding and prediction of protein and metabolic structures.

According to the report, most organizations (96 percent) are already pursuing biosolutions : 40 percent are at an exploratory stage, with 56 percent engaging more actively in experimentation, pilots, or scaled deployments.

The steady increase in investment signals positive market sentiment around the scientific and commercial potential of engineering biology, with 68 percent of executives saying that their organization plans to increase investment in the next two-to-five years.

“The bioeconomy is at a pivotal moment with the promise of limitless opportunities for organizations, and business leaders are taking notice,” said Roshan Gya, Chief Executive Officer of Capgemini Invent and Member of the Capgemini Group Executive Committee.

He noted Biosolutions are already making truly groundbreaking innovations possible with a direct impact on numerous aspects of our daily lives.

“For example, the development of organisms that capture carbon dioxide (CO2) and microbes that purify water, the creation of biofuels from waste, or next-generation medicines that act on specific DNA profiles,” he said.

However, he opined that greater investment is needed to capitalize on this momentum and achieve market viability.

“With generative AI accelerating speed and precision in the engineering process, while also reducing costs, engineering biology is poised to reimagine and completely transform businesses in the coming years,” he said.

According to the report, sustainability emerges as a major driver of corporate interest in engineering biology; however, biosolutions need to perform, and be harnessed properly to achieve sustainable outcomes.

While most executives expect biosolutions to have a positive impact on climate change and plastic and air pollution, the environmental and social impacts of biosolutions must be assessed across the product lifecycle and supported by strong performance and cost efficiency assessment to drive market adoption.

According to the report, corporates believe that biosolutions can help their organizations reduce pollution and emissions, improve product performance and safety, and reduce exposure to supply chain disruptions.

The report also explored the challenges to achieving the adoption of biosolutions at scale.

Participants from both corporates and engineering biology startups cited high cost, a lack of suitable large-scale infrastructure such as bioreactors, and talent shortages as some of the biggest barriers.

They also recognize the complexities involved in reconfiguring supply chains, and evolving regulations governing the development and use of biosolutions.

Almost two-thirds (65 percent) of engineering biology startups say that a lack of bio-literacy hinders their ability to scale-up biosolutions, highlighting the need for greater expertise in this field.

In this scenario, digital and engineering technologies were identified as key drivers for reducing costs, optimizing bioprocesses, shortening time-to-market for biosolutions, and helping mitigate environmental and societal risks.

AI was identified as the most transformative technology for increasing the efficiency of research and development (R&D) processes, with 98 percent of organizations either using, or planning to use, AI to accelerate the adoption of biosolutions.

Robotics that automate processes and digital twins of bioreactors, that predict production outcomes, were also highlighted as important measures to reduce costs and accelerate scale-up.

However, the report suggested that AI is the only technology that is currently widely used to develop and scale biosolutions: while 70 percent of organizations are already using AI, far fewer organizations have implemented robotics (20 percent) or digital twins (11 percent).

According to the report, in order to increase the adoption of biosolutions, organizations will need to formulate an informed strategy and roadmap, raise public awareness, consider sustainability impacts and build in circularity aspects to maximize its potential.

It will be imperative for organizations across industries to operate within the boundaries of a clear, progressive regulatory framework for the bioeconomy.

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