Technology · Biochemistry & industrial biotech / Enzymes & biocatalysis

White-biotech enzyme platforms

Industrial biotechnology that uses discovered and engineered enzymes to make chemicals, materials and energy as an alternative to conventional chemistry — commercial today, held back where bio-based products cost more than petroleum-based ones.

Maturity 8/9 Risk: medium Industrial chemistry Biomanufacturing & Bio-industrial Production EU · US · CN verified 2026-10-16 · 4 Sources

1 · What it gives

White (industrial) biotechnology integrates modern technology and biotech applications for cost-effective manufacture of chemicals, materials and bio-energy, as an alternative to conventional chemical processes. Commercial-scale enzyme processes are achieved today. Implementation typically runs through discovery and screening, strain design, process development and scale-up, and downstream processing.

2 · What it replaces 6

D1	Fermentation (stainless and single-use bioreactors, solid-state reactors) and downstream equipment (centrifuges, filtration, spray and fluid-bed drying, formulation) for local production of enzymes, microbial products and fermentation ingredients instead of chemical-synthesis plants and imports Replaces: Chemical-synthesis routes and imports for the products in FI-, FD-, I- and A-series articles (enzymes, organic acids, vitamins, microbial …	EAC
D1	Biosurfactants (rhamnolipids, sophorolipids) instead of petrochemical surfactants in cleaning and industrial formulation Replaces: Petrochemical surfactants in cleaners and formulations - linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS), alcohol ethoxylates (AEO), alkylphenol …	CHEM
D2	Industrial biocatalysis (enzymes and whole cells) — e.g. nitrile hydratase for acrylamide, engineered transaminase for sitagliptin, enzymatic antibiotic side-chain processes — instead of heavy-metal catalysts, high-pressure hydrogenation and multistep chemistry with toxic reagents Replaces: Copper-catalysed sulfuric-acid hydration of acrylonitrile; rhodium-catalysed high-pressure asymmetric hydrogenation; chemical deacylation of …	CHEM
D1	Plant-based meat and dairy analogues and cultivated (cell-cultured) meat and seafood instead of a share of conventional meat and its antibiotic, antiparasitic and feed-chain chemical inputs Replaces: A share of conventional meat, seafood and dairy — and the antibiotics, antiparasitics, feed-crop pesticides and fertilizer of the animal …	NOVEL
D2	Bumblebee pollination instead of hormone sprays and manual vibration in greenhouse tomatoes Replaces: Fruit-setting hormone sprays (synthetic auxins such as 4-CPA / tomatotone) and labour-intensive manual flower vibration in greenhouse …	MACRO
D2	Disease-resistant crop varieties (marker-assisted breeding, stacked resistance genes, cisgenesis) instead of routine fungicide spray programmes Replaces: Season-long protective fungicide programmes on susceptible varieties — e.g. 10–20 sprays of mancozeb/chlorothalonil/metalaxyl against potato …	SEED

3 · How to implement 4 steps

1
Discovery and screening
Discover and screen enzymes.
2
Strain design
Design the production strain.
3
Process development and scale-up
Develop the process and scale it up.
4
Downstream processing
Recover and purify the product.

4 · Who delivers

Matched suppliers (matched automatically)

LG Chem	South Korea	Producer	active
Abtec	India	Research / RTO	active
Biomason	United States	Producer	active
Bota Bio 恩和生物	China	Producer	active
India Glycols (NSE)	India	Producer	active
Shandong Bailong Chuangyuan (BLD Bio)	China	Research / RTO	active
SyncoZymes (Shanghai)	China	Producer	active
Vland Biotech 蔚蓝生物 (SSE 603739)	China	Research / RTO	active
BM GreenTech Berhad	Malaysia	Research / RTO	active
EGAVET	Egypt	Research / RTO	active
Fermelanta	Japan	Producer	active
Alfa Laval	Sweden	Producer	active

Leading companies and institutes (from the brief)

Providers of white-biotech enzyme platforms named in the sources: BASF, Evonik, IFF, MetGen and Fraunhofer IGB. Others are matched by the portal under Industrial chemistry and Biomanufacturing.

5 · Rules & route to market

Route into Russia / EAEU: EAC · EAEU accredited bodies / Rosakkreditatsiya
declaration registered within 3 working days (testing extra); certification longer
Information, not legal advice — confirm the procedure for your product. (2026-10-06)

United States

The sources reviewed on 2026-10-16 identified no the US regulator or standard specific to this technology. Treat the route as case-by-case and ask for a check.

European Union

The sources name one compliance point: adherence to protocols such as the Nagoya Protocol when genetic resources are used, together with data management and regulatory compliance. No further EU instrument is named.

China

The sources reviewed on 2026-10-16 identified no China regulator or standard specific to this technology. Treat the route as case-by-case and ask for a check.

6 · Money: tenders & grants

Grant	Circular innovative advanced materials: facilitating the transition from design to markets (RIA) (Innovative … European Commission · EU	Feb 2, 2027 109 days
Grant	Biotechnology application for CCU European Commission · EU	Sep 22, 2027 341 days
Grant	Biotechnology for Healthy Ageing European Commission · EU	Oct 28, 2026 12 days
Grant	Developing novel recycling technologies for complex plastic materials applying biotech solutions European Commission · EU	Sep 22, 2027 341 days
Grant	Development of cell-free protein synthesis platforms for discovery and/or production of biologicals European Commission · EU	Apr 13, 2027 179 days

7 · Tech stack & innovations

Main risk from the sources: biotechnological products can cost more to produce than traditional petroleum-based ones.

Sources 4

Elar.urfu.ru — elar.urfu.ru 2026-10-16
Basf.com — www.basf.com 2026-10-16
Basf.com — www.basf.com 2026-10-16
Evonik.com — www.evonik.com 2026-10-16