Fossil fuel use has increasingly been linked to global warming and climate change over the past few decades. Consequently, the search for alternative fuels and energy sources has accelerated in recent years, with sustainable biofuels emerging as low-carbon emission alternatives.
Increasingly, synthetic biology has played a key role in advancing sustainable biofuel technology. This article will discuss advancements, applications, and the industry impact of synthetic biology on biofuel production.
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The Role of Synthetic Biology in Biofuel Production
Synthetic biology is an emerging scientific field that uses modified microorganisms to produce many different types of industrially important chemicals. Similar to other scientific disciplines such as genome editing, synthetic biology techniques change an organism’s genetic code, using long stretches of DNA found in nature or completely novel sequences of genetic code.1
Biorefineries are used to produce biofuels, which, like their fossil fuel counterparts, rely on combustion to release energy, making these alternative sustainable fuels compatible with fossil fuel infrastructure.
Synthetic biology integrates various fields such as biology, chemistry, automation, biophysics, and mathematics to produce synthetic enzymes, organisms, chromosomes, and more and as such has had a growing impact on biofuel production.
For instance, strain engineering has advanced biofuel manufacturing, creating novel and prototype strains for industrial production purposes. Automation and synthetic biology has revolutionized the biofuel production pipeline.
Biofuel synthesis has been optimized by genetically engineering novel microorganisms. Additionally, synthetic biology techniques have enhanced metabolic pathways, increasing biofuel yields.2
Furthermore, CRISPR and AI-driven bioengineering have emerged as rational techniques for precision manufacturing and biofuel development.
In short, multiple synthetic biology techniques have revolutionized the field of sustainable biofuel production, helping to usher in the advent of low-carbon, sustainable energy that is not reliant on dwindling natural resources.
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Applications and Industry Adoption
The industry adoption of synthetic biology technologies for the production of biofuel for transportation, industrial processes, and many other applications has fueled the rise of companies taking innovative approaches to this growing area of green energy and alternative fuel manufacture.
LanzaTech, for instance, has produced ethylene from CO2 for biofuel production by leveraging synthetic biology techniques. This New Zealand-based company uses engineered, highly specialized biocatalysts to produce ethylene in a continuous process, contributing to sustainable fuel production and the circular economy. The process is less energy-intensive and more efficient than conventional alternatives.3
Amyris is another company that uses synthetic biology to produce biofuels, cosmetics, and healthcare products. Other synthetic biofuel companies include Syntech ASB, Enerkem, Sunfire, LanzaJet, and Synthetic Genomics.
Care-O-Sene is a project that aims to produce sustainable aviation fuel and reduce the carbon footprint of this hard-to-decarbonize sector. Seven project partners across Germany and South Africa, including the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and Sasol, are developing catalysts to produce green kerosene for use in sustainable aviation fuel and make the concept more economically attractive.4
Adoption of biofuels produced using synthetic biology techniques and bioreactors has some key environmental and economic benefits over traditional biofuels as well as conventional fossil fuels. Traditional biofuels require agricultural land to produce feedstock, as well as resources such as water and fertilizers.
Synthetic biofuels produced in bioreactors require a fraction of these resources and free up land for food production and other economic activities. Moreover, they do not use environmentally-polluting fertilizers.
Major investments have been made into synthetic biofuels by companies such as Porsche and ExxonMobil, highlighting the industry’s recognition of the economic benefits of these alternative fuels.5
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Market Trends and Investment Landscape
As mentioned above, several globally-important corporations have taken an interest in the field of synthetic biofuels. These companies have invested $1 billion USD into synthetic biofuel technologies, with the aim of producing 550 million liters of biofuel by next year (2026.)5
Underpinning the investment and market trends in synthetic biofuels is the upcoming ban on new internal combustion vehicles in many nations and the push for net zero worldwide. Porsche, for example, are investing $75 million in Highly Innovative Fuels to build facilities in Australia, the USA, and Chile. Audi are collaborating with Porsche.
Major investments such as this are testament to the growing market strength of synthetic fuels. Currently, there is intense cross-market competition for traditional biofuel feedstocks and limited resources, making synthetic fuels and feedstocks more attractive in the long- and short-term.
Deloitte have predicted that synthetic fuels will be the main energy source in sectors such as aviation and transportation by 2050, with around 16 EJ (exajoules) of fuel being consumed globally. In 2030 this figure is projected to be around 1.6 EJ.6 Market growth is projected to be around 22% between 2024 and 2031.7
Challenges and Future Innovations
Whilst synthetic biofuels could likely play a key role in the future sustainable energy mix and help industry achieve net zero, there are a number of key challenges that need to be overcome. All actors and stakeholders will need to undertake ambitious and coordinated efforts to make this a reality.
Cost competitiveness of synthetic fuels in the aviation and shipping sectors, for instance, is one technical and technological challenge that needs to be solved. New technologies such as refuelling infrastructure will be needed in the shipping industry to support the transition.
Moreover, there is cost variability between different regions in producing alternative fuels and climate-neutral carbon dioxide. Furthermore, expensive and largely unproven direct-air capture technologies are needed for future technologies, presenting another economic and technical challenge. Globally harmonized frameworks will become increasingly necessary.6
Public and government support will likely prove crucial for synthetic biofuel penetration into the energy market and its cost competitiveness. Without this, these fuels will remain around two to ten times more expensive than conventional alternatives. Scaling production, reducing running costs, and addressing regulatory and public perceptions will all be key challenges in the coming years.
However, current industry investment and a focus on technological innovation provides significant opportunities for the sector. Emerging synthetic biology and bioreactor technologies will help to accelerate the green transition and development of new synthetic biofuels.
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In Summary
Synthetic biology has key benefits for the production of sustainable, alternative synthetic biofuels that use less resources and land than conventional alternatives. Current investment and innovation in this sector could see the market share of these fuels grow significantly in the coming decade.
However, many challenges lie ahead for the sector. Continued innovation, development of breakthrough technologies, overcoming regulatory and public perception hurdles, and a coordinated approach will help accelerate this area of scientific research and help industries such as transportation, aviation, and shipping significantly reduce their carbon footprints.
Referencing
- National Human Genome Research Institute (2019) Synthetic Biology [online] genome.gov. Available at: https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/policy-issues/Synthetic-Biology (Accessed 23 February 2025)
- Liu, Z et al. (2022) Yeast synthetic biology advances biofuel production Current Opinion in Microbiology 65 pp. 33-39 [online] ScienceDirect. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369527421001466 (Accessed 23 February 2025)
- LanzaTech (2022) LanzaTech Produces Ethylene from CO2, Changing the Way We Make Products Today [online] lanzatech.com. Available at: https://lanzatech.com/lanzatech-produces-ethylene-from-co2-changing-the-way-we-make-products-today/ (Accessed 23 February 2025)
- Care-o-Sene [online] Homepage. Available at: https://care-o-sene.com/en/ (Accessed 23 February 2025)
- Janaki, S.T et al. (2024) Beyond fossil: the synthetic fuel surge for a green-energy resurgence Clean Energy 8:5 pp. 1-19 [online] Oxford Academic. Available at: https://academic.oup.com/ce/article/8/5/1/7697435 (Accessed 23 February 2025)
- Lorenz, B (2024) Low-carbon fuels: The last mile to net zero [online] Deloitte.com. Available at: https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/issues/climate/low-carbon-fuels.html (Accessed 23 February 2025)
- Verified Market Research (2024) Synthetic Fuel Market By Types (Extra Heavy Oils, Gas-to-liquid Fuels), Raw Materials (Coal, Natural gas) & Region for 2024-2031 [online] verifiedmarketresearch.com. Available at: https://www.verifiedmarketresearch.com/product/synthetic-fuel-market (Accessed 23 February 2025)