BioMADE has announced a $6.4 million investment to support three innovative projects advancing bioindustrial manufacturing for defense.
Funded through its Sustainable Logistics for Advanced Manufacturing Project Call, these projects focus on protecting warfighters and strengthening domestic supply chains.
The projects include producing DoD-relevant lubricants from food waste streams, creating bio-based fabrics that better protect soldiers, and developing carbon fiber for aerospace, defense, and commercial uses.
These initiatives demonstrate the potential of bioindustrial manufacturing to improve defense materials, enhance national security, and ensure supply chain resilience. Using waste streams as feedstocks, these processes aim to build a more flexible, cost-competitive, and secure U.S. manufacturing base.
One project involves continuous biomanufacturing of lubricants from food waste, which could reduce dependency on vulnerable global supply chains. Capra Biosciences and Virginia Tech lead this effort, focusing on creating a local, secure source of essential lubricants for military equipment.
Another project aims to develop bio-based carbon fiber using waste products like ethanol and carbon dioxide, reducing costs by 10-30 percent. Industrial Microbes and Georgia Tech are working on this process, which could expand manufacturing capacity and applications for lightweight, durable materials.
A third project explores using spent yeast to produce textile fibers with enhanced properties like water and oil repellency, durability, and burn resistance. Teams from Tandem Repeat, ARCTOS, and the University of Georgia are developing these advanced textiles for defense and commercial use.
Together, these projects showcase the power of bioindustrial manufacturing to improve U.S. defense capabilities, supply chain security, and economic resilience.
This investment highlights the nation’s focus on innovative, sustainable solutions that provide strategic advantages in defense and industry.
