What is engineering biology and how will it help create a more sustainable future?

Have you ever stopped and looked at a bridge spanning a wide river and considered all the factors that go into building it? Think of the science behind the choice of materials, the design, how the structure can bear the weight of the traffic crossing as well as the weather or shocks such as earthquakes it might experience. 

That’s engineering, the process of using multidisciplinary activities, such as science, mathematics, and design, to solve technical problems, increase productivity, and improve systems. Now, think of DNA as a building block in a biological ​‘bridge’. Engineering biology applies those same principles to biological systems to make products and processes more efficient, effective, and greener. 

What is engineering biology?

Decades of scientific advances have rapidly increased our understanding of DNA, genes, proteins, and biological processes. Engineering biology takes this knowledge and applies it along with principles from process chemistry, industry and manufacturing to design and create new biological systems that can be used to great advantage. 

For example, engineering biology can turn a microbe into a ​‘little factory’ to make things it wouldn’t normally make, such as a new antibiotic. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are on the rise, and engineering biology can help us combat this deadly threat as the drugs we’ve relied on for nearly a century start to become ineffective. Using this technology to find innovative solutions perfectly aligns with our work to find new medicines to fight various diseases. 

Engineering biology can be used in a wide range of different applications, from healthcare and pharma to agriculture, food, chemicals, and materials. It can be the toolbox to help produce vaccines, gene therapies, novel foods and sustainable fuels, as well as helping tackle plastic pollution. It is also used to make things more efficient and sustainable by using renewable resources and less energy and creating products with less climate and environmental impact.

Making products using engineering biology requires use of the design, build, test, learn cycle used in the world of process engineering and manufacturing. This cycle takes the product or process from initial concept to first build, and can then be tested and learned from to iterate and improve for industrial-scale production and commercialisation. 

When the applications are so wide-ranging, it is no surprise that the field is exploding in activity, and in 2023 the UK Government published a strategic national vision for engineering biology.

A national vision for engineering biology

The UK’s position is that of a globally recognised centre of excellence for science and research with its world-class scientists, facilities and thriving life sciences sector. Engineering biology will play a key and strategic role in strengthening this position. Plans have been underway to make the UK a technology and science superpower, and it was part of this mission that a £2 billion national vision for engineering biology was announced by UK Government, under then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, in December 2023. 

In its vision statement, the government outlined 5 key areas where engineering biology can create technological impact and economic opportunities that amount to £2 – 4 trillion over the next 20 years. One area, health, is potentially worth £1.2 trillion a year on its own. The areas are: 

1. Health: This includes the development of mRNA vaccines and RNA oligonucleotide therapeutics, personalised gene therapy, artificial organs, biologics and smart drugs. These developments will help usher in an age of targeted, personalised treatment for a greater number of chronic and previously hard-to-treat diseases and keep us agile and prepared for potential future shocks such as another pandemic.
2. Agriculture and food: This category encompasses new farming techniques and novel foods to improve food security for a growing population threatened by multiple challenges. From engineered crops and biological fertilisers to sustainable alternative proteins, these innovations will decrease environmental impact and increase resistance to pests, disease, and environmental challenges such as heat, drought, or flooding. They will also use less land for production, where fermentation processes are used for food production.
3. Chemicals and materials: The goal of engineering biology here is to make existing industry processes more sustainable and to develop new chemicals and materials that either de-fossilise the existing process, or which could not be developed through traditional processes.
4. Low-carbon fuels: Lowering the carbon footprint of transportation is key to addressing climate change and mandates for renewable fuel inclusion in road transport has been in force for many years now. Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and road transport fuels have a critical role to play and engineering biology means waste and novel biomass feedstocks can be used.
5. National security, resilience and preparedness: Engineering biology offers powerful tools to anticipate, respond to and reduce the impact of crises. These tools can address threats ranging from potential future pandemics, food security and climate shocks to the monitoring of harmful or misuse of technology.

CPI’s engineering biology capability

Engineering biology is one of the keys to tackling the challenges within each of the key areas the government has identified. However, entrepreneurs, startups, spinouts and SMEs looking to do so often lack time and resources. Many may not have their own in-house multi-disciplinary teams as they might be focused on developing the early stages of the technology. 

That’s where CPI can help. As a flagship facility for scaling bioprocesses, CPI has expertise and capabilities in all five areas. Our range of facilities means we can partner on any engineering biology project, whatever its stage of the pipeline. At our National Industrial Biotechnology Facility and National Biologics Manufacturing Centre, we support strain and bioprocess development, modelling and simulation, process engineering design, downstream processing and the critical scale-up demonstration. 

Bringing together expertise through partnership and collaboration is critical for success. CPI’s centres provide cutting-edge technology but also the space and opportunities for industry, academia and government to build partnerships. 

Our services are available for multiple sectors and can be applied across markets so that learnings and expertise from one project can be taken into another. 

The government’s national vision puts the UK at the forefront of engineering biology. Find out how CPI’s flagship capabilities can help you play your part.