Synonym/BCG report shows quickly-maturing multi-hundred billion dollar biomanufacturing sector

In New York state, Synonym, a biomanufacturing infrastructure company, is unlocking the market forces to enable a quickly-maturing multi-hundred billion dollar sector—which will “allow biomanufacturing [to] finally fulfill its promise of achieving commercial scale.”  

So says a new report by leading global consulting firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG) (coauthored by Synonym), entitled Breaking the Cost Barrier on Biomanufacturing. Written both by BCG’s team of industry experts and members of Synonym’s capital markets and engineering teams, the report analyzes opportunities that would enable the sector to deliver bioproducts economically for mass adoption—and in the process, create a rich asset class for real estate investors. Chief amongst these is the development of biofoundries: large standardized fermentation facilities that offer the economies of scale to break the cost inertia currently facing the sector.  

Biomanufacturing’s success will be accelerated by an industrial environment facing stark sustainability realities. More than 4,100 of the world’s largest companies have now set transition goals in line with the 1.5°C goals of the Paris Agreement, with many nations continuing to pledge a move away from fossil-fuel facilitated manufacturing methods. Utilizing low-carbon processes and ingredients as a superior substitute for established methods, biomanufacturing offers a clear benefit to companies striving to reach those targets. In the US, President Joe Biden has committed to 30% of the US chemical demand to utlize biomanufacturing pathways by 2043. 

The nascent $200 billion market identified in the new report is conservative, and solely for precision fermentation with applications in the speciality chemicals, chemical precursors, and food markets. And while others have predicted a larger near-term multi-trillion dollar market for the global bioeconomy, this report focuses on rapid and achievable market targets with a detailed pathway to market. The authors underscore this is only attainable if biomanufacturing capacity is scaled to twenty times its current size of around 50 million liters globally, requiring potential investors to move immediately.