Lloyd J. Austin III Secretary of Defence | Official website
The Department of Defense (DoD) has announced seven additional awards to bioindustrial firms through the Distributed Bioindustrial Manufacturing Program (DBIMP). This brings the total number of DBIMP awards to 13, amounting to $23 million.
The latest awardees are Battelle in Columbus, Ohio; Modular Genetics in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Genomatica in San Diego; Industrial Microbes in Alameda, California; ZymoChem in San Leandro, California; The Better Meat Co. in West Sacramento, California; and Biosphere in Oakland, California.
These awards are part of more than 30 expected under Executive Order 14081, "Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bioeconomy." The order aims to strengthen America's bioeconomic capabilities while advancing the Department's defense objectives.
"Expanding the Department of Defense's biotechnology capabilities is key to maintaining the United States' supply-chain and military superiority," said Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu during a moderated discussion at the National Defense Industrial Association's Emerging Technologies Conference on August 7 in Washington, D.C.
The awarded companies will receive funding to develop business and technical plans for constructing domestic bioindustrial manufacturing facilities under the Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC) Other Transaction Agreement (OTA), overseen by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy. Successful projects may receive follow-on awards providing up to $100 million to build U.S.-based bioindustrial manufacturing facilities.
"As we look to build resilient supply chains and address emerging threats," said Carla Zeppieri, deputy assistant secretary of defense for industrial base resilience. "The DIBC OTA plays a pivotal role in DoD's efforts to develop mission-critical materials domestically and meet our national security needs."
The first DBIMP award was announced in July 2024. Additional awards will be disclosed throughout the coming month.
Details of the current batch include:
- Battelle: Awarded $1.85 million to plan a facility producing chemicals needed for smokeless propellants and other energetic materials at its Advanced Pilot Facility in Aberdeen, Maryland.
- Biosphere: Awarded $1.5 million to plan a commercial-scale plant for high-performance oils with applications across food, fuel, and fabrication.
- Genomatica: Awarded $1.51 million to plan a multiproduct biorefinery producing polymer precursors for aviation and automobile markets.
- Industrial Microbes: Awarded $1.55 million to plan a facility converting ethanol feedstock into acrylic acid for coatings, adhesives, sealants, lubricants, corrosion inhibitors, and wound dressings.
- Modular Genetics: Awarded $2.53 million to plan a facility bringing production of an essential precursor for energetic materials back from overseas using proprietary technology that reduces waste costs.
- The Better Meat Company: Awarded $1.48 million to plan a bioproduction facility producing shelf-stable mycoprotein ingredients high in protein and fiber content.
- ZymoChem: Awarded $1.57 million to plan a bioproduction facility producing biobased monomers used in military fabrics and other high-performance materials.
Upon completing planning efforts under DBIMP’s initial phase within DIBC OTA framework businesses can negotiate further support from DoD aimed at establishing robust domestic bioproduction infrastructure crucially reducing reliance on foreign supplies thus ensuring national security enhancement overall.
