Metabolic engineering and synthetic biology for a bioeconomy

Metabolic engineering and synthetic biology are the core platform technologies relevant to “replacing the oil barrel”. As it stands, both technologies have proven successful in basic science and in laboratory-scale applications. Their translation into bioeconomy products to date has been limited, however, often for technical reasons. This chapter identifies some of the successes, but also highlights the areas where governments could fund pre-competitive and near-market research to increase the rate of success in commercialisation. A bioeconomy presents a large conundrum, creating competition for biomass between food and industrial production. The chapter also examines the biotechnology of industrial production of bio-based materials. Ethanol, while important, is not a specific focus. A recurring theme is the need for systems integration of computational and experimental approaches, a key message for policy makers.