Created by Danone, Michelin, DMC Biotechnologies, Crédit Agricole Centre France, Clermont Auvergne Innovation and Greentech, the Biotech Open Platform (BIOP) was first created two years ago. Since then, more than €20 million has been invested to help innovators bridge the gap between laboratory development and industrial-scale production.
The site houses a range of fermentation-based facilities that are rare in Europe. This includes a complete fermentation line with a capacity of up to 15 m³ and semi-industrial purification systems.
Start-ups and other companies facing scale-up challenges will now be able to use these facilities to validate technical processes and conduct application testing before commercial production. These companies will also have access to expert knowledge from the founding companies, providing technical know-how and the ability to solve issues that appear as the process moves from one scale to another.
Albe Wendt, BIOP board member and VP of advanced technologies and head of product development at Danone, said this combined expertise will accelerate innovation and help bring new products to market more quickly.
“Biotech start-ups are usually 5 to 10 years old maximum. They’ve just proved their concept […] and are in a phase where they need to scale up,” he told NutraIngredients. “Biotech startups are very good at playing at the lab on a small scale, but they have little experience at an industry level moving from a few micrograms towards kilotons. This is why BIOP was created.”
Unlocking the advantages of precision fermentation
The Biotech Open Platform is a contract and development manufacturing organization (CDMO) which specializes in precision fermentation. The new 5,000 m² pilot facility contains two fully equipped microbial fermentation lines, a downstream processing platform and an analytical laboratory.
Precision fermentation is the core focus of the facility given its ability to create new molecules, ingredients and materials from renewable resources. This technological approach uses microorganisms such as yeasts, bacteria, microalgae and fungi as ‘micro factories’ to produce ingredients that are structurally bio-identical to their natural counterparts.
This technique therefore enables both the sustainable production of existing ingredients and the creation or discovery of entirely new compounds, according to Philippe Teissier, R&I and ferments director at Danone, who is involved in the operational development of BIOP.
“Through fermentation, we already have access to some vitamins and proteins, but with advanced fermentation, we can access new types of enzymes,” he told NI. “You can also access some new types of amino acids that could bring benefits to consumers […] and human milk oligosaccharides, which are not easy to produce today, so it’s extremely powerful in terms of innovation.”
Sustainability is another key appeal of precision fermentation. By-products can be upcycled and the technique also uses considerably less land and water compared to livestock farming, cutting carbon emissions and other greenhouse gases. It is also not affected by changing weather patterns, droughts and poor soil, providing a safety net for food manufacturers.
Beyond food, the facility is also capable of producing non-food grade materials such as biomolecules for cosmetics, as well as alternatives to fossil-based molecules traditionally used in industrial manufacturing.
Food-grade materials such as alternative proteins, omega-3s and natural colorants can be produced and then rigorously tested in the analytical lab to quantify and validate the ingredients.
Looking ahead
Following its inauguration, the platform is now ready to welcome its first advanced fermentation projects, including the development of proteins, vitamins, fibers and other nutraceutical ingredients.
The long-term ambition, Teissier said, is for BIOP to become the hub of a biotechnology ecosystem that strengthens European industrial capabilities and turns scientific discoveries into industrial solutions.
“Through this ecosystem, and with the other ecosystems that will probably pop up in Europe, BIOP will become one of the main places to be when it comes to biotechnology and scaling up of new ingredients from fermentation,” Teissier said. “This will have an amazing impact on development of bio-based or bio-sourced ingredients, making life easier for all.”
