Across the world, governments and industry are searching for new ways to build the economy while protecting natural resources and supporting growing populations. Our current reliance on fossil fuels, intensive farming inputs, and linear production models creates waste, emissions, and environmental pressure that are no longer sustainable in a changing climate. The agricultural industry needs to find alternatives that are renewable, resilient, and capable of meeting rising demand for food, energy, and materials.

At the same time, emerging opportunities in biotechnology, from alternative proteins to bio-based materials, face major barriers. Challenges such as scalability, production efficiency, and regulatory uncertainty limit how quickly innovation can move from the lab to the market. Without stronger research and adoption pathways, Australia risks falling behind in one of the fastest-growing global industries.

What are the future challenges?

Over the next decade, the bioeconomy will need to address several critical challenges, including:

• Scaling alternative protein production through fermentation and plant-based systems that are affordable and efficient.
• Reducing costs of downstream processing to make new bio-based products commercially viable.
• Developing new plant molecular farming systems to reliably produce high-value proteins and metabolites.
• Balancing consumer acceptance, regulation, and safety to ensure new products are trusted and adopted.
• Integrating renewable biological resources into existing value chains at scale, from urban industries to rural farming systems.
• Building a skilled workforce that can operate at the intersection of biology, engineering, policy, and markets.
• Ensuring resilience during economic shocks where sustainable bio-based alternatives can provide stability for communities.

How can we help address challenges in the bioeconomy?

At ANU, we are driving innovation in the bioeconomy to build a sustainable future where economic growth works in harmony with nature. By transforming renewable biological resources and waste streams into high-value products such as food, feed, energy, and materials, we are helping Australia seize one of the biggest opportunities of our lifetime.

We bring together biochemists, plant scientists, engineers, policy experts, and social scientists to co-design solutions that are economically viable, socially accepted, and environmentally sound. We are:

• Advancing plant molecular farming and synthetic biology to create proteins and metabolites with commercial potential.
• Developing alternative proteins through scalable fermentation, sustainable extraction, and plant-based expression systems.
• Overcoming productivity and cost barriers in biotech through innovative research and engineering.
• Supporting startups and industry partners including ventures like Membrane Transporter Engineers to bring ideas to market.
• Training the next generation of biotech leaders through initiatives like the ARC Training Centre for Future Crops Development, Plant SynBio Australia, and the Australian Plant Phenomics Network.
• Providing world-class expertise and facilities in protein engineering, plant physiology, consumer sentiment, and regulatory frameworks

By connecting research excellence with industry needs, AFII at ANU is helping Australia realise the full potential of the bioeconomy, creating sustainable industries, new jobs, and products that deliver prosperity without compromising the planet.

Partner with us to future-proof your operations. Whether you're seeking strategic insights, technical solutions, or collaborative innovation, we’re here to help you lead in a climate-smart agricultural future.