Dr. Jen Vanderhoven, COO of the Bio-Based and Biodegradable Industry Association (BBIA), discusses the next generation of biologically derived materials: Bio-better Materials.
The chemical industry is at a crossroads in the face of escalating climate change, resource depletion and rising demand for sustainable alternatives. Petrochemical, the bedrock of modern materials, has brought prominent advances over the past century. But it also trapped us in a fossil dependence and a linear take-make independence model where the planets can no longer afford.
Over the past 20 years, the concept of green chemistry has been a powerful factor in reform, providing cleaner processes, safer ingredients, and significantly reducing the environmental footprint. These advancements are the foundation of today’s transition and prove that chemistry can evolve towards a more responsible model. However, many of these innovations focus on minimizing harm rather than maximizing profits. Bio-based polymers are an important step forward, which are “less harmful” than traditional plastics, but the real opportunity is on the way further, creating materials that are not only sustainable, but also cost-effective, performant and easy to expand.
A new paradigm is emerging now: biovetter materials. These next-generation biology-derived materials not only aim to match fossil-based equivalents, they are also designed to outperform them in functionality, safety and cyclicality. This is a chemical rethink not as an act of change, but as an act of innovation. To succeed, you need to balance three forces: cost, performance and sustainability.
Why sustainability alone isn’t enough
The transition to a circular economy is one of the crucial challenges of the 21st century, with the global chemical sector at its heart. The industry is responsible for nearly 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, supporting everything from packaging to construction, electronics and pharmaceuticals.
Sustainability is essential, but many bio-based innovations up until now have been framed as drop-in alternatives. It exchanges fossil-derived raw materials or ingredients for bio-based equivalents while maintaining the same molecular structure and functionality. This reduces carbon footprint, but also preserves chemical chemical logic optimized for oil availability, rather than environmental or performance results. For this reason, bio-based versions often struggle to compete in cost and performance. However, without a compelling functional edge, capture remains limited.
To truly transform, sectors must go beyond the alternative, and instead of asking biology to mimic petrochemistry, we should ask, “What chemistry looks like when we start biology?”
Performance as a critical factor
For decades, an implicit trade-off has been that while the fossil existing biological-based versions are more sustainable, there are potential performance issues. But that assumption is now being pulled apart. Today, biology offers toolkits for enzymes, microorganisms, and metabolic pathways, allowing it to be designed to generate copies of entirely new molecules as well as copies of existing molecules. These materials are inherently compatible with biological systems and can outperform existing people with legacy fossil-based systems.
Performance is an important factor in recruitment. “Green” material rarely survives beyond pilot scales, costs more and works. In contrast, stronger, lighter, safer, or more versatile biobetter materials create unique demands, regardless of origin. Sustainability is not the only selling point, but the built-in advantage.
For example, polyethylene furanoate (PEF), derived from plant sugars, has much better gas barrier properties than PET, and creates bottles that retain oxygen for longer while still fully recyclable. It can withstand heat up to 110°C and surpasses conventional PS and PET with thermal resistance. 3These are progress, not compromises. They demonstrate that sustainability, at the expense of performance, rather strengthens and amplifies it.
Cost: Relentless Pressure Points
Even with excellent performance, cost remains an important barrier. Fossil-based chemicals and materials have been funding for decades based on the development of petroleum refinery infrastructure, processes developed to be extremely efficient, and the economies of scale of the vast global volume required.
In contrast, bio-based chemicals and materials often emerge from small-scale fermentation or enzyme processes, struggling to achieve cost parity. Despite the great advances in synthetic biology and stock engineering, the economics of large-scale biomanufacturing remain uncompetitive with the production of fossil-derived, particularly bulk chemicals, fuels and materials. Most fermentation infrastructures are optimized for high value, low capacity products rather than the ultra-efficient high-throughput systems needed to compete in the commodity market. Furthermore, steam sterilization, low yields, and complex extraction processes mean that some biochemicals have higher carbon footprints than expected.
But economics is changing. Metabolic efficiency, fewer process steps and lower purification needs can make bioproductions more competitive as innovative technologies mature. Additionally, changes in volatile fossil markets, carbon pricing and regulations are beginning to scale.
Demand for circular sustainability
Beyond performance and cost, biobetter materials are designed with end-of-life in mind. This is something that rarely takes into consideration petrochemicals. For example, instead of lasting for centuries, many of these new materials can be safely broken in industrial or domestic composting, allowing carbon to be returned to the soil or producing biomethane.
The global market for bio-based polymers is expanding rapidly. According to the Nova-Institute, it grew from 4.5 million tonnes in 2022 to over 6.5 million tonnes in 2024, with packaging, textiles and cars leading the way.
However, barriers in the bio-based chemicals and materials sector still exist. For example, fossil incumbents still benefit from scale and subsidies, sourcing biomass without land use conflict is complex, and confusion continues about the definitions of “biodegradable”, “compostable” and “bio-based.”
However, with appropriate policy support, biobetter materials can compete head-on with petrochemists not only on ethics but also on economics.
The rise of biobetter materials is challenging us to stop asking how petrochemicals can be replicated and how it can outweigh it. By balancing cost, performance and sustainability and placing performance at the heart of your value proposition, bio-based chemistry can unleash a new era of truly superior materials, not only greener.
The tools of engineering biology, green chemistry, and circular design converge to provide the opportunity to redesign the chemicals and material foundations of society.
Ultimately, biobetter materials represent more than a technical upgrade, and mark the new industrial revolution. If the 20th century is defined by hydrocarbon cracks, the 21st may be defined by engineering biology: fermenters instead of refineries, enzymes instead of crackers, and molecules designed to regenerate ecosystems rather than contaminate.
reference
1. New bio-based polymer PEFs show a low CO2 footprint – Renewable Carbon News
Degradation due to polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) synthesis and application to circular economy – Development of scientific poly(lactic acid) (PLA)-based blends and modification strategies: How to improve key properties for technical applications – Review – PMC Global Bio-based polymer market will increase by 13%.
This article will also be featured in the 23rd edition of Quarterly Publication.
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