Biomanufacturing

State of the art (2026)

Long-running enzyme businesses are profitable, while newer industrial fermentation companies are still trying to show they can produce at a profit. Novonesis reported 7% organic sales growth and a 37.1% adjusted EBITDA margin for 2025, and guided to a margin of 37 to 38% for 2026. LanzaTech's latest results show project progress but negative adjusted EBITDA. Its large reported net profit came mainly from a non-cash gain on an investment. For any company in this field, look separately at how its plants perform, its certifications, its customers and its cash position.

Core thesis

Biomanufacturing — using engineered microorganisms (bacteria, yeast, fungi, algae) to produce chemicals, materials, proteins, and fuels — is a proven platform technology transitioning from pharmaceutical niche to industrial scale. The logic is compelling: biology can synthesize complex molecules at ambient temperature and pressure that petrochemistry requires extreme heat, toxic catalysts, and fossil feedstocks to produce. Approximately 60% of the physical inputs to the global economy could theoretically be produced biologically, according to McKinsey's 2020 bio-revolution analysis.

The technology works. Precision fermentation already produces high-value products at commercial scale: insulin, enzymes for detergents (Novozymes), flavors and fragrances (vanillin via Evolva/IFF, squalene via Amyris), and industrial amino acids. The challenge is scaling from high-value, low-volume products to lower-value, higher-volume applications — bioplastics, sustainable aviation fuel, bio-based nylon, and commodity chemicals — where the cost per kilogram must compete with petroleum at $60-80/barrel.

The scaling bottleneck is fermentation capacity and downstream processing. A single 200,000-liter fermenter costs $5-10 million to build and requires precise control of temperature, pH, oxygen, and nutrient feeds. Downstream processing (separation, purification) often constitutes 50-70% of total production cost. The sector's central challenge is not biology — it is chemical engineering at scale. Companies that solve the scale-up problem (from 2,000L pilot to 200,000L production) without losing yield or economics will capture enormous value.