Australia has current capabilities in a range of processes using biotechnology, with potential for further development. Australia is one of only 17 mega-diverse countries in the world. Extensive biodiscovery and screening has allowed Australian researchers to access large numbers of unique compounds and organisms which may find uses in industrial applications (eg. bioleaching of mineral deposits or novel enzymes for use as industrial catalysts).

Australia’s current industrial biotechnology capabilities are categorised under:

• biomaterials
• biomining
• chemicals and enzymes
• emerging capabilities

Each of these product areas – identified as key areas of industrial biotechnology capability in Australia – are underpinned by a range of factors and conditions that support Australian industrial processes generally. These factors include government policies, R&D support, leading institutions, collaboration between researchers and industry and company activity.

Biomaterials

Australia is answering the increasing demand for biodegradable materials through undertaking sophisticated institutional and industry R&D in this area.

Opportunities are likely to increase in areas such as biomaterials for medical products, biopolymers and a range of materials derived from waste products.

Australia’s skills in the biomaterials sector include:

• gene and gene pathway manipulation for the production of value added industrial products
• polymer expertise
• biomass processing

Current R&D includes a focus on bio-cements, bio-paints and bioantifouling materials.
Capabilities are also evidenced by Australian companies achieving global sales for bioproducts including specialist applications in marine paints, contact lens coating, and bioplastics.

Biomining

Australia’s large and technologically advanced mining industry which provides a strong base of expertise, investment and infrastructure, and Australian niche specialisation such as expertise in design, construction and operation of bio-oxidation plants provides a sound platform for the development of biomining.

In addition, Australia’s mega-diversity provides an opportunity for discovery of useful organisms to improve biomining processes.

Australia’s capabilities in biomining are confirmed by a range of factors including R&D, company activity, innovation and collaboration.

Examples of Australia’s innovative biomining capabilities include processes for the bio-assisted extraction of metals from ores through:

• High intensity stirred/aerated bioreactors for concentrates used in five plants in Australia for processing gold (out of eight globally).
• Low intensity engineered bioleach heaps for low grade ores (Australia has five of 18 worldwide copper sulphide heap leaching operations).
• Other areas of biomining innovation include:
• Research into the use of different bacteria/extremophiles to improve biomining processes.
• Molecular technologies for optimising performance of organisms for a given application.

Collaboration is also a key factor underpinning Australia’s capabilities in biomining. Australia has the largest public domain R&D group in biomining in the world through the collaboration between the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and AJ Parker CRC. Australia is also a partner in the largest international public domain R&D group, with the University of Cape Town in South Africa and the University of British Columbia, Canada.

In addition, capabilities are being strengthened through collaborations such as the Environmental Biotechnology Cooperative Research Centre (EBCRC) and CSIRO’s current projects on microbiological enhanced oil recovery that receive support from oil companies.

Chemicals and enzymes

Industrial biotechnology provides an opportunity for Australia to produce new chemicals and enzymes which can help reduce its trade deficit in chemicals and plastics.

Although relatively small in comparison with some countries, there is existing industry infrastructure at Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards and growing expertise in groups such as CSIRO Molecular Science, as well as at universities including the University of New South Wales and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.

Capabilities in chemicals and enzymes include strong R&D, company activity and skills. Key areas of research focus include:

• Competitive optimisation techniques that have been developed in Australia.
• Secretory expression systems, which provide higher yields and lower production costs, and are currently being developed in Australia to produce enzymes which cannot be produced economically at present.
• R&D in fine chemical production via enzymes.

Company activity includes the production of speciality enzymes for many industries and sectors including food, pulp and paper, drug synthesis and forensic diagnostics. This sub-sector has strong links to agriculture for raw materials and has particular strengths in bioremediation and enzymes for pesticides.

Australia has strong skills in the area of biomolecular science in CSIRO and the universities, and particularly in molecular technologies for optimising performance of enzymes and other proteins. Australia’s strengths are also highlighted by links with agriculture, including Tasmania’s successful production of opiates.

Access to infrastructure for fermentation processes also supports capabilities in chemicals and enzymes, including a large facility in Melbourne (the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere) (Source: www.zektin.com.au/zektin_contractfermentation.html).

Emerging capabilities

Australia has emerging capabilities in downstream processing and will be well placed to respond to a growing need for more products such as the supply of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA). Whilst BSA is the first product of this kind to be commercialised, large scale manufacturing processes for several other bovine organ and plasma derived proteins are currently under development.

Other emerging opportunities include building on the impact of systems biology, to apply broader knowledge to outcomes from genome mapping.

Biofuels

Important areas of emerging capabilities in biofuels are:

• ethanol production from different source materials
• biodiesel from canola
• liquid hydrocarbons from algae
• biosynthesis of cell walls
• use of integrated biorefinery capacity (being currently commissioned) to produce ethanol as well as higher value chemicals

Future opportunities include:

• The development of bioreactors for hydrogen gas
• Fostering emerging capabilities to build on significant opportunities for Bioenergy from methane or directly through microbial fuel cells using waste

Biomaterials

Australia has a range of emerging capabilities for supporting growth in the biomaterials sector, including in:

• Proteins and polysaccharides
• Biomaterials for medical uses such as surgically-implanted devices or scaffolds and targeted drug delivery
• Re-engineered microbes for better and faster production methods

Australia’s capabilities in agricultural biotech, including the prospect of enhancing transgenic plants as improved feed stocks, may also strengthen the country’s industrial biotech position in the medium term.

CSIRO is investigating the capacity of plants as ‘biofactories’ (eg. oilseeds could be engineered to contain special fatty acids that can replace petrochemical products used in the production of plastics, adhesives and surface coatings), potentially providing farmers with new high value crops for new markets. The advantages of biofactories include improving energy efficiency and reducing costs and industrial waste.

Biomining

Opportunities for growth in biomining include the creation of new markets by providing mining biotechnology solutions to improve environmental and production performance.

Emerging capabilities include:

• Expanding existing capability for cleaner technologies for metal processing to cover additional metals (nickel and zinc) and further development of remote location insitu mining capacity (eg. a longer term goal of in-situ bioleaching).
• Building on universal low-cost technology for primary (refractory) copper sulphides, nickel, and zinc which can change uneconomic reserves to valuable resources.
• Focusing on biodiscovery to identify novel microbes and novel enzymes.
• Conducting research into biometal compatibility.

Chemicals and enzymes

Cross-fertilisation of biological and chemical molecular sciences are expected to provide new commercial and R&D opportunities.

In particular Australia has emerging capabilities in:

• Predictive synthesis
• Metabolic engineering
• Production of optically pure pharmaceuticals using biological means (with benefits including cost reduction)

There are also opportunities for growth of capabilities in:

• Developing technologies and processes to replace conventional manufacturing routes for raw materials and other high-value chemicals.
• Understanding pathway engineering for construction of superior microbes for particular substrates and products.
• Identifying medium to high-value chemicals as food additives (eg. nutraceuticals) and/or specialist chemicals.

Food processing

Future opportunities in food processing include greater international collaboration, particularly with Asia, to build on emerging capabilities in nutraceuticals. This is an area where growth is already occurring, but where Australia has the potential to lead the world in particular niche markets.

Other opportunities in food processing include:

• Local production of active ingredients for drugs, including potentially growing vaccines and active ingredients in plants.
• Algae biofermentation.
• Higher purity capacity (eg. by building on quality raw materials).